Emancipation ; • • • 


DUKE 
I      UNIVERSITY 


EMANCIPATION; 

ITS  NECESSITY,  AND  MEANS  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENT : 


CALMLY  SUBMITTED  TO 


THE  CITIZENS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Sg  Jfatljan  Banga,  JD.  JH. 


rV 


If  ye  oppress  not  the  stranger,  the  fatherless,  and  the  widow,  and  shed  not  innocent 
blood  in  this  place,  neither  walk  after  other  gods  to  your  hurt ;  then  will  I  cause 
you  to  dwell  in  this  place,  in  the  land  that  I  gave  to  your  fathers,  forever  and  ever^ 

Jeremiah  vii,  6,  7. 


P.UBLISHED   BY    LANE  &   SCOTT, 

200  Mulberry-street. 
JOSEPH    LONGKING,    PBIMTBB. 

1849. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/emancipationitsnOObang 


PREFACE. 


The  following  c!iapters  on  Emancipation  were  writ- 
ten in  1846,  and  published  in  Zion's  Herald  and  Wes- 
leyan  Journal,  w^ere  republished  in  the  Western  Chris- 
tian Advocate,  and  were  favourably  noticed  by  seve- 
ral papers  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  in  some  of 
which  copious  extracts  were  printed.  Since  their  pub- 
lication, some  eminent  individuals,  ministers  and  states- 
men, have  written  and  published  similar  views  ;  though 
not  exactly  adopting  my  plan  of  emancipation,  yet 
agreeing  with  me  in  the  main  particulars.  The  ''  Na- 
tional Era,"  a  periodical  published  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, and  other  papers  of  a  political  character,  and 
more  especially  one  published  in  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
are  pleading  the  cause  of  emancipation  manfully,  and, 
I  believe,  with  encouraging  success.  These  things 
augur  well  for  our  country. 

I  have  been  also  requested,  by  several  individuals 
of  high  standing,  to  embody  the  pieces  in  a  book,  that 
they  might  be  preserved  in  a  more  permanent  form  ; 
and  one  gentleman  in  Virginia  says,  in  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  the  Editor  of  the  Christian  Advocate  and 
Journal,  in  which  a  part  of  the  chapters  appeared  not 


long  since,  ''  that  they  ought  to  be  published  in  every 
respectable  journal  in  the  land  ;"  though  he  at  the 
same  time  stated  some  objections  to  the  doctrines  ad- 
vanced. 

Several  obstacles  prevented  me  from  complying 
with  the  above  requests,  and  w^ith  my  own  convictions 
of  duty,  at  an  earlier  period.  These  obstacles  are  now 
happily  removed ;  and  I  have  revised  them,  and  send 
them  forth  substantially  the  same  as  they  were  when 
first  published,  without  making  any  allusion  to  more 
recent  events.  These  events,  however, — such  as  the 
liberation  of  the  slaves  in  her  colonies  by  the  French 
government,  the  agitation  of  the  subject  in  the  Ameri- 
can Congress,  by  w^hich  a  firm  determination  has  been 
manifested  against  the  extension  of  slavery  in  the 
newly-acquired  territories ;  as  well  as  the  disposition 
expressed  by  the  inhabitants  of  California,  in  opposi- 
tion to  its  introduction  into  that  territory, — all  exhibit 
an  enlightened  public  sentiment  upon  this  interesting 
subject ;  and  they  lead  to  the  conclusion,  that  slavery 
is  doomed  to  destruction  in  our  country  at  no  distant 
period. 

For  the  consummation  of  an  event  so  devoutly 
wished  by  every  pious  heart,  and  every  patriotic  states- 
man, I  wish  to  contribute  my  mite,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose I  dedicate  the  following  pages. 

New-York,  April  7,  1849.  N.  Bangs. 


CONTENTS. 


•CHAPTER  PAGE 

^    I. — Introductory  Remarks 3 

II. — Prevalence  of  Slavery 6 

III. — Introduction  of  Slavery  into  this  Country  .     .     10 
IV. — Plan  of   Emancipation — Congress  must  offer  a  ^ 
Remuneration — How  to  get  the  Means       .     .     14 
V. — Objection   Answered — All    bound   to    do    Some- 
thing, because  all  are  implicated  in  the  Evils 

^  of  Slavery 19 

VI. — Another  Objection  answered — The  Slowness  of 

THE  Process  considered 26 

VII. — Motives  to  Emancipation — Duties  of  Slave-hold- 
ers     32 

VIII. — Motives  to  Emancipation — Danger  of  Slavery  to 

THE  Peace  of  the  White  Population.     ...       36 
IX. — Motives  to  Emancipation — Comparison  between 

Free  and  Slave  Labour 41 

X. — Motives   to  Emancipation — State  of  Things  in 

the  West  Indies 46 

XI. — Motives  to  Emancipation — Unproductiveness  of 
Slave-labour  —  Tendency    of    the    Domestic 

Slave-trade 50 

XII. — Motives    to    Emancipation — Incompatibility    of 

Slavery  with  our  Civil  Institutions       ...     55 
XIII. — Motives  to  Emancipation — The  Duty  devolves  on 

Statesmen 59 

XIV. — Motives  to  Emancipation — Duty  of  Ministers     .     65 
XV. — Motives  to  Emancipation — The  Evils  of  the  Do- 
mestic Slave-trade 70 

XVI. — Motives  to  Emancipation — Slavery  Deprecated 

by  many  Eminent  Men 77 

XVII. — It  is  a  National  work — The  Expense      ....     85 
XVIII. — Further  Objections  considered — If  not  Justice, 
yet  the  Genius  of  Christianity,  enjoins  the 

Duty  of  Aiding  in  this  Work 91 

XIX. — The  Means  to  carry  the  Plan  into  Effect     .     .     9(5 


EMANCIPATION; 

ITS  NECESSITY,  AND  MEANS  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENT. 

CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 

I  HAVE  long  reflected  upon  the  system  of  slavery  as 
it  exists  in  our  country,  and  have  resisted  the  convic- 
tion that  it  was  my  duty  to  write  my  thoughts  respect- 
ing it,  until  I  dare  resist  no  longer.  Life  is  fast 
ebbing  out  with  me,  and  I  shall  soon  be  called  to 
"  give  an  account  of  my  stewardship,"  so  that  whatever 
I  would  say  or  do  must  be  said  or  done  soon,  or  not 
at  all. 

It  is  not  my  intention,  however,  so  much  to  dwell  on"" 
the  evils  of  slavery,  (which  indeed  are  such  as  to  be 
perceptible  to  the  most  superficial  observer,)  as  on  the 
methods  to  be  adopted  and  pursued  for  their  removal. 
Though  the  evils  of  slavery  are  so  apparent  as  to  be 
perceived  by  every  attentive  observer,  yet  their  re- 
moval is  of  most  difficult  achievement ;  so  difficult, 
indeed,  that  all  attempts  to  accomplish  it  in  our  coun- 
try have  failed,  except  in  a  few  individual  cases.  The 
reasons  are  obvious.  Slavery  is  interwoven^  in  many 
of  the  States  of  our  confederacy,  in  their  very  constitu- 
tions, gives  a  colouring  to  their  law^s,  enters  into  all 
their  domestic  arrangements,  and  hence  it  tinges  the 
earliest  thoughts  of  their  youth,  and  Wases^  the  judg- 


ment  and  guides  the  conduct  of  every  man,  woman, 
and  child,  in  the  community  where  slavery  exists.  It 
will  be  perceived,  therefore,  that  it  is  an  evil  strongly 
rooted  in  the  very  groundwork  of  society ;  ramifying 
itself  throughout  every  limb  and  fibre  of  the  body  po- 
litic ;  infesting  the  domestic  circle  by  the  fireside,  and 
thence  diffusing  itself  among  all  orders  and  ranks  of 
society,  from  the  hardy  plebeian  who  handles  the  spade 
and  the  plough,  to  the  highest  magistrate  upon  the 
bench  of  justice.  The  seat  of  this  evil  is  therefore 
deeply  bedded  in  the  foundation  of  the  social  system. 
Hence  he  who  w^ould  attempt  its  eradication  must  be 
careful  how  he  touch  it,  lest,  while  endeavouring  to 
remove  it,  he  tear  up  the  foundations  of  the  social  fab- 
ric, so  that  while  he  may  succeed  in  eradicating  the 
evil,  he  will  destroy  the  good  also  ;  or,  in  the  language 
of  sacred  Scripture,  "  While  he  gather  up  the  tares,  he 
-root  up  the  wheat  also  with  them." 

But  before  I  come  to  propose  a  remedy  for  this 
deeply-seated  disease,  perhaps  a  few  remarks  upon  the 
history  of  slavery  in  our  world,  and  more  especially 
on  the  manner  of  its  introduction  into  our  country,  may 
be  useful,  that  we  may  have  a  just  appreciation  of  its 
hateful  character,  of  its  influence  on  society,  as  w^ell 
as  the  means  which  have  been,  or  may  be,  adopted  for 
its  destruction. 

"  Slavery  and  the  slave-trade,"  says  Bancroft,  "  are 
older  thantlie^retjords  of  human  society ;  they  are 
found  to  have  existed  wherever  the  savage  hunter  be- 
gan to  assume  the  habits  of  pastoral  or  agricultural 
life  ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  Australasia,  they  have 
extended  to  every  portion  of  the  globe.  They  per- 
vaded every  nation  of  civilized  antiquity.  The  earli- 
est glimpses  of  Egyptian  history  exhibit  pictures  of 


bondage ;  the  oldest  monuments  of  human  labour  on 
the  Egyptian  soil  are  evidently  the  results  of  slave-la- 
bour. The  founder  of  the  Jewish  nation  whs  a 
slave-holder,  and  a  purchaser  of  slaves.  Every  patri- 
arch was  lord  in  his  own  household." — Vol.  i,  p.  159. 
(See  Gen.  xii,  16;  xvii,  12;  xxxvii,  28.) 

That  slavery  existed  among  the  Hebrews  after  their 
settlement  in  Palestine,  none  will  dispute  who  is  ac- 
quainted with  their  history,  as  recorded  in  the  Old 
Testament ;  laws  were  enacted  to  regulate  the  conduct 
of  masters  and  slaves,  to  limit  the  time  of  servitude, 
and  to  mitigate  its  severity,  and  soften  the  rigour  of  its 
services.  Nor  does  the  servitude  exemplified  among 
the  Hebrews  afford  any  just  precedent  for  the  modern 
slave-trade,  or  for  a  justification  of  American  slavery,  as 
we  shall  more  fully  see  in  the  prosecution  of  our  subject. 
Slavery  originated  from  the  wickedness  of  mankind  ; 
from  a  disposition  in  the  stronger  to  oppress  the  weaker ; 
in  the  rich  to  trespass  upon  the  rights  of  the  poor ;  and 
from  the  lordly  disposition  of  the  victor  to  tyrannize 
over  the  vanquished.  Hence  captives  taken  in  war, 
among  all  the  nations  of  antiquity,  were  either  kept  by 
the  conqueror  as  his  slaves,  or  sold  to  the  highest  bid- 
der, to  gratify  his  avarice,  or  to  pamper  his  appetite  for 
pomp  and  splendour.  And  no  enlightened  Christian 
will  set  up  the  plea  of  justification  for  an  evil  which 
originated  from  such  a  source,  and  is  productive  of 
such  results  ;  and  therefore  any  lawful  and  practicable 
means  that  may  be  devised  to  root  out  the  evil  from 
human  society,  must  be  hailed  with  delightful  avidity 
by  every  lover  of  his  species. 

In  the  next  chapter  I  shall  present  some  further  his- 
torical sketches  of  this  enormous  evil  under  which  our 
country  groans. 


CHAPTER  II. 

PREVALENCE  OF  SLA-VERY. 

That  slavery  existed  among  all  the  nations  of  anti- 
quity, is  a  truth  which  stands  on  the  records  of  their 
history.  Who  does  not  know  that  the  Trojan  war 
originated  from  the  captivity  of  a  Greek  princess,  and 
that  the  wrath  of  Achilles  was  kindled  on  the  altar  of 
slavery?  The  Greeks  and  Romans  not  only  made 
slaves  of  the  captives  taken  in  war,  but  they  enslaved 
their  own  countrymen  ;  the  father  sold  his  children,  the 
creditor  his  insolvent  debtor,  and  the  warrior  his  help- 
less captive.  And  no  doubt  the  wide  diffusion  of 
slavery  in  the  Roman  Empire — for  it  pervaded  all 
ranks  of  society — and  the  severity  of  her  laws  toward 
the  slave,  hastened  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Common- 
wealth. 

^  Nor  did  the  coming  of  the  Christian  religion  do  away 
this  prevalent  evil ;  though,  so  far  as  its  mild  and 
benignant  principles  entered  into  the  hearts  of  man- 
kind, and  became  a  regulator  of  their  consciences,  the 
severity  of  the  laws  sanctioning  and  regulating  slavery 
were  relaxed  and  modified ;  so  that  the  master  was 
bound  to  treat  his  slave  with  justice  and  kindness,  and 
the  slave  was  bound  to  serve  his  master  with  fidelity, 
"not  with  eye-service,  but  with  singleness  of  heart." 
Yet  it  existed  in  the  Christian  Church,  as  an  evil 
which  could  not  be  immediately  and  wholly  exter- 
minated. It  is  true  that  the  voice  of  Christianity  pro- 
claimed a  war  against  it,  as  a  corrupter  of  human 
society,  as  inconsistent  with  the  peace  and  purity  of 
the  Church;  but  it  continued  and  prevailed  neverthe- 


less,  and  no  doubt  contributed,  among  other  things,  to 
bring  on  that  dark  cloud  which  finally  enveloped  the 
Church  for  so  many  ages. 

But  passing  over  the  long  list  of  outrages  w^hich 
vi^ere  committed  upon  the  rights  of  mankind,  by  that 
horrid  cupidity  which  led  them  to  gratify  their  avarice 
or  revenge  at  the  expense  of  the  principles  of  humanity, 
and  in  violation  of  the  law  which  requires  us  to  do  as 
we  would  be  done  by,  and  which  disgraced  all  the 
nations  of  Europe,  as  well  as  of  Asia  and  Africa — 
Germans,  Russians,  Anglo-Saxons,  Irish,  French, 
Italians,  and  Sicilians — I  say,  without  dwelling  upon 
those  enormities  which  stood  out  prominently  on  the 
face  of  all  these  nations,  in  consequence  of  the  cor- 
rupting influences  of  slavery  and  the  slave-trade,  I  will 
now  notice  the  manner  of  its  introduction  into  our  own 
country.  It  seems,  indeed,  that  it  had  been  so  long 
and  so  generally  practised,  that  no  one  dreamed  even 
that  it  was  wrang,  or  that  it  was  in  any  way  incom- 
patible with  those  laws  of  social  intercourse  which 
ought  to  regulate  our  conduct  one  toward  another,  as 
fellow-beings  and  fellow-citizens.  Every  one  looked 
simply  ''  for  his  gain  from  his  quarter,"  and  therefore 
sought  by  the  traffic  in  human  beings  to  gratify  his 
avarice,  his  love  of  luxurious  indolence,  his  pride  and 
pomposity,  however  much  he  might  trespass  upon  the 
rights  or  invade  the  possessions  of  his  fellow-men. 

Preparatory  to  the  introduction  of  negro  slaves  into 
the  newly  discovered  cbTohies  of  America,  the  love  of 
gain  had  familiarized  the  traffic  in  human  beings  to 
most  of  the  nations  of  Europe ;  so  much  so  that  they 
seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  for  the  conquest  of  the 
barbarous  nations  of  Africa.  No  sooner,  therefore, 
were  the  islands  of  the  West  Indies  discovered,  than 


the  natives  were  reduced  to  slavery ;  and  even  Columbus 
himself  has  left  a  blot  upon  his  otherwise  fair  fame,  by 
sending  five  hundred  of  the  natives  of  America  to 
Spain,  to  be  sold  for  slaves.  And  though  the  generous 
natui^  of  Isabella  led  her  to  liberate  those  thus  trans- 
ported as  slaves  to  her  dominions,  yet  she  sanctioned 
the  enslavement  of  the  Moors  and  the  negro  race,  and 
reserved  to  herself  and  Ferdinand  a  fourth  part  of  the 
slaves  which  the  newly  discovered  kingdoms  might 
contain.  So  general  was  the  passion  for  the  conquest 
of  the  natives,  with  thje  view  to  enslave  them,  that 
*'  the  articles  of  the  early  New-England  confederacy 
class  persons  among  the  spoils  of  war;"  and  the  ex- 
cellent Winthrop,  the  Governor  of  Connecticut,  "  enu- 
merates Indians  among  his  bequests."  In  New^-Hamp- 
shire,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Virginia,  and  the 
Carolinas,  the  natives  were  held  as  slaves  for  a  long 
time  after  their  settlement  by  Europeans. 

But  all  these  instances  of  slavery  were  small  and  in- 
significant in  comparison  to  the  negro  slavery  which 
w^as  soon  introduced,  attended  with  all  the  horrors  of 
the  African  slave-trade,  into  all  the  colonies  of  North 
and  South  America.  Spanish  slave-holders  emigrated 
with  their  negro  slaves ;  and  such  were  the  numbers  of 
enslaved  Africans  in  Hispaniola,  within  two  years  after 
its  settlement,  that  Ovando,  the  governor  of  the  island, 
entreated  that  the  importation  might  be  stopped.  To 
disguise  the  real  motive  for  this  nefarious  practice,  the 
Spanish  government  interposed  its  authority  to  prevent 
the  continuance  of  the  traflSc  of  those  who  had  been 
bred  in  Moorish  families,  under  the  pretence  of  allow- 
ing those  only  who  had  been  instructed  in  Christianity 
to  be  imported,  that  they  might  assist  in  converting  in- 
fidels !     This  hypocritical  conduct  could  not  cover  up 


the  avaricious  designs  of  those  rapacious  Spaniard!^, 
who  soon  found  the  benefits  resulting  from  slave-labour, 
in  cultivating  sugar  and  in  working  the  mines.  Hence, 
King  Ferdinand  lent  his  royal  influence  to  rivet  slavery 
in  his  newly  acquired  dominions  ;  and  even  Las  Casas, 
the  benevolent  missionary,  while  he  pleaded  the  cause 
of  humanity  against  the  enslavement  of  the  feeble 
natives,  on  account  of  the  unprofitableness  of  their 
labour,  gave  his  sanction  to  the  employment  of  African 
slaves,  and  thus  contributed  to  perpetuate  the  system  of 
negro  bondage. 

Other  nations,  now  greedy  to  share  in  the  glory  of 
colonizing  the  New  World,  were  no  less  eager  to  parti- 
cipate in  the  profits  of  the  slave-trade  and  slave-labour 
Hence,  England,  France,  and  Germany  joined  with 
the  Spaniards,  not  only  in  sending  colonists  to  people 
America,  but  also  in  purchasing  or  decoying  away  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  Africa,  and  selling  them  into 
perpetual  bondage,  or  employing  them  in  cultivating 
sugar  and  rice,  and  digging  in  the  gold  and  silver  mines 
of  America.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  colonists  remon- 
strated against  the  horrid  practice,  as  being  inconsistent 
with  the  principles  of  Christianity  and  the  laws  of 
humanity.  The  royal  governments,  actuated  by  that 
cupidity  resulting  from  avarice,  were  determined  to 
force  slavery  upon  their  colonies,  even  at  the  expense 
of  justice,  mercy,  and  all  the  kindlier  feelings  excited 
by  Christian  love  and  the  reciprocal  duties  of  human 
society."^  Hence  the  slave-trade  w^ent  on  and  increased 
in  extent  and  cruelty  in  an  exact  proportion  to  the  in- 
creasing demand  of  slave-labour,  until  almost  the  entire 
continent  of  America,  so  far  as  European  settlements 
had  extended,  was  infested  by  the  pestiferous  atmos- 

*Sec  Bancroft,  vol.  i,  pp.  165-174,  from  whom  most  of  the  above  facts  are  takeiv 

2 


10 

phere  created  by  the  love  of  slavery.  To  purify  this 
foul  atmosphere,  by  removing  its  cause,  will  require 
wise  and  cautious  measures.  Nor  need  we  expect  that 
an  evil  of  such  magnitude,  introduced  by  such  slow- 
degrees,  spread  so  extensively  among  the  people,  and 
of  such  long  continuance,  can  be  eradicated  by  a  word, 
a  look,  or  even  a  touch ;  but  it  requires  the  efforts  of  a 
nation  to  throw  off  the  mighty  incubus  under  which  we 
have  so  long  groaned. 

Before,  however,  I  come  to  the  remedy  I  propose,  I 
must  give  some  further  details  respecting  its  introduc- 
tion into  the  several  States  of  the  Union,  and  the  efforts 
that  were  made  to  resist  it.  In  the  mean  time  let  us 
pray  God  so  to  enlighten  our  understandings,  and  guide 
our  consciences,  that  we  may  speak  and  do  right  in  all 
thino^s. 


CHAPTER  III. 

INTRODUCTION  OF  SLAVERY  INTO  THIS   COUNTRY. 

That  we  may  see  clearly  how  slavery  became  so 
generally  estabhshed  in  our  country,  we  must  trace  its 
origin,  and  notice  the  manner  of  its  introduction  a  little 
more  particularly.  It^was  in^I620  that  a  Dutch  man- 
of-war  entered  James  River,  and  offered  twenty  negroes 
for  sale.  This  was  the  beginning  oTHegro  slavery  in 
Virginia ;  and  though  its  progress  was  slow,  owing  to 
the  disgust  with  which  the  blacks  were  viewed,  yet  it 
gradually  increased,  as  the  people  found  that  slave- 
labour  was  profitable  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  until 
laws  were  finally  enacted  declaring  that  ''all  servants, 
not  being  Christians,  imported  into  the  country  by  ship- 


11 

ping,  shall  be  slaves,"  and  also  that  the  ''  conversion 
to  the  Christian  faith  doth  not  make  free." 

From  this  beginning,  negro  slavery  gradually  ex- 
tended itself  through  all  the  colonies,  north  and  south, 
not  excepting  eyen-,  those  settled  by  the  Puritans 
themselves.  It  is  true  that  it  was  strongly  resisted  at 
first  by  the  colonists,  as  inconsistent  with  their  rights, 
and  contrary  to  the  laws  of  God.  In  Massachusetts 
espectaTry,  the  men  who  introduced  the  negroes  for 
sale,  were  considered  as  malefactors  and  murderers, 
and  the  negroes  were  ordered  to  be  restored  at  the 
public  charge  to  their  native  country,  with  a  letter  ex- 
pressing the  indignation  of  the  General  Court  at  their 
wrongs  ;  and  though  they  always  manifested  an  oppo- 
sition to  slavery,  yet  their  extreme  repugnance  was 
very  much  weakened  by  the  overpowering  influence 
of  the  English  government,  who  found  their  profits  in 
prosecuting  the  African  slave-trade.  Through  the 
same  influence,  Rhode  Island,  the  land  of  religious 
liberty  and  freedom  of  conscience,  planted  by  the  re- 
nowned Roger  Williams,  became  infected  wqth  the 
same  slave  mania,  though  at  first  strongly  protested 
against.  Nor  did  Connecticut  wholly  escape  the  evil. 
New-York  participated  largely  in  the  profits  of  the 
traffic  ;  nor  did  Pennsylvania,  though  settled  under  the 
auspices  of  the  immortal  Penn,  wholly  escape  the 
plague-spot — for  it  is  said  that  Penn  himself  died  a 
slave-holder.  Whatever  reluctance  might  have  been 
manifested  in  either  or  all  the  colonies  to  the  system 
of  negro  slavery,  the  monopoly  of  the  slave-trade,  which 
was  finally  seized  by  England,  about  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  bore  down  all  opposition,  and  in 
a  manner  compelled  them  to  adopt  the  practice,  until 
finally,  finding  the  profits  of  slave-labour  a  compensa- 


12 

tioii  for  the  sacrifice,  they  willinglyyielded  to  it,  as  an 
evil  ^rowing  out  of  their  relation  to  the  mother  coun- 
try. And  though  the  excellent  Oglethorpe,  in  the 
settlement  of  his  colony  in  Georgia,  protested  against 
the  introduction  of  slavery,  yet  the  cupidity  of  the  set- 
tlers, faUing  in  with  the  avarice  of  the  English  govern- 
ment, led  to  its  establishment  even  in  that  colony, 
which  was  begun  especially  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor 
and  the  needy.  New- Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Maryland, 
each  in  its  turn,  yielded  to  the  general  impulse,  and 
went  headlong  into  the  gulf  which  swallowed  up  so 
many  hapless  Africans,  and  doomed  them  to  all  the 
horrors  of  slavery. 

^  Thus  we  see  that  the  establishment  of  slavery  in 
this  country  w^s  ow^ng  more  to  the_predominant  influr^ 
ence  of  the  English  government,  with  a  view  to  derive 
profits  from  the  abominable  slave-trade,  than  to  the  de- 
sire of  the  colonies  to  avail  themselves  of  the  benefits  of 

.slave-labour.  Having,  however,  experienced  the  tempo- 
ral benefits  resulting  from  the  system,  the  passion  once 
excited  in  their  breasts  for  living  upon  the  labour  of 
others  grew  stronger  and  stronger,  until  many  of  the 
citizens  in  our  Union  now  plead  for  its  continuance. 
It  was,  however,  to  the  glory  of  the  first  American 
Congress,  that  assembled  in  1776,  to  prohibit,  by  a  so- 
lemn decree,  the  slave-trade  from  being  carried  on  by 
American  citizens. 

It  is  not  necessary,  I  apprehend,  to  recite  the  horrors 
of  this  trade,  as  it  has  been  carried  on  from  year  to 
year  by  different  nations  of  Europe,  as  its  recital  would 
only  tend  to  shock  the  feelings  of  humanity,  and 
offend  the  eye  of  delicacy,  by  reading  its  barbarities. 
The  number  of  Africans  who  have  been  torn  from 
their  homes  and  kindred  by  man-stealers,  kidnappers. 


13 

and  those  who  have  decoyed  them  away  for  mere 
trifles,  that  they  might  enrich  themselves  by  selling 
them  into  perpetual  bondage,  would  seem  almost  in- 
credible, were  they  not  recorded  in  authentic  history. 
It  is  estimated  by  Bancroft,  after  a  careful  examination 
of  the  subject,  that  ''  the  number  imported  by  the  Eng- 
lish into  the  Spanish,  French,  and  English  West  In- 
dies, as  well  as  the  English  continental  colonies,  has 
been,  collectively,  nearly  three  millions ;  to  which  are 
to  be  added  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  purchased 
in  Africa,  and  thrown  into  the  Atlantic  on  the  passage  ;" 
and  when  it  is  considered  that  not  more  than  one-half 
of  those  exported  from  Africa  to  America  were  carried 
in  English  ships,  it  will  appear  that  about  seven  mil- 
lions of  human  beings  were  taken  from  Africa,  to  be 
sold  in  perpetual  slavery,  before  the  memorable  era 
of  1776,  when  the  American  Congress  passed  its  nota- 
ble decr^e^__Wx),uld.,that  it  had  been  obeyed  ! 

Since  the  American  Revolution,  the  principles  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty  having  been  deeply  imbedded 
in  the  American  heart,  all  the  States  north  of  Mary- 
land have  emancipated  their  slaves  ;  while  the  new 
States  of  Vermont,  Maine,  Ohio,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and 
Indiana,  have  prohibited  slavery  within  their  borders. 

Now  the  question  arises,  whether  anything  can  be** 
done  to  induce  the  slave  States  to  proclaim  freedom  to 
their  slaves  ?  I  think  there  can.  It  is  manifest,  how- 
ever, that  the  Cong^ss  of  the  United  States  has  no 
jurisdiction  over  this  subject,  except  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  even  here  it  is  doubted  by  many  whe- 
ther it  can  exercise  its  powder  for  the  extirpation  of 
slavery,  without  the  consent  of  the  States  which 
ceded  the  territory  to  the  Union.  With  this  exception, 
if  indeed  it  be    an   exception,  slavery  is  exclusively 


14 

within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  several  States  where  it 
exists,  and,  therefore,  if  it  be  ever  done  away,  it  must 
/be  effected  by  the  respective  State  Legislatures. 

The  plan  by  which  this  is  to  be  effected  will  be  de- 
veloped in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PLAN     OF    EMANCIPATION — CONGRESS     MUST     OFFER     A 
REMUNERATION HOW  TO   GET  THE  MEANS. 

As  stated  in  the  last  chapter,  the  Congress  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  can  exercise  no  jurisdiction  over  slavery  as 
it  exists  in  the  several  States.  If,  therefore,  anything 
be  done  to  remove  this  evil,  it  must  be  done  by  the 
State  Legislatures  themselves. 

^  Now  the  plan  I  propose  is  simply  this :  That  the 
Congress  make  a  proyositioir^  to  the  several  slave  States, 
that  so  much  per  head  shall  he  allowed  for  every  slave 
that  shall  he  emancipated,^  leaving  it  to  the  State  Legis- 
latures respectively  to  adopt  their  ow^n  measures  for 
effecting  the  object — for  fixing  the  time,  the  age  at, 
and  the  circumstances  under  which,  emancipation  shall 

^  take  place.  In  respect  to  the  aged  and  infirm,  it 
would  be  unjust,  if  not  indeed  inhuman,  to  set  them 
free  without  provision  being  made  for  their  support 
and  comfort ;  and  the  young  and  helpless  infant  ought 
to  be  provided  for  by  some  adequate  means. 

*  It  may  be  contended  by  some,  that  Congress  have  no  constitutional  right  to 
make  such  a  proposition.  Allowing  that  they  have  not — and  I  will  not  contend 
on  this  point — the  right  can  be  given  to  them  in  the  way  the  constitution  prescribes 
in  Article  V.  of  that  instrument. 

t  A  portion  of  this  may  be  given  to  the  emancipated  slave,  to  enable  him  to  be- 
gin business,  or  to  set  up  for  himself  in  any  way  he  may  choose. 


15 

But  how  shall  the  Congress  get  the  means  to  ap"^ 
propriate  the  amount  necessary  to  remunerate  the  citi- 
zens of  the  slave  States  for  emancipating  their  slaves?  I 
answer,  let  all  who  feel  an  mterest  in  this  subject,  aboli- 
tionists, anti-slavery  men,  as  well  as  the  slave-holders 
themselves,  unite  in  a  petition  to  the  general  govern- 
ment, praying  them  to  levy  a  tax,  or  set  apart  the 
avails  of  the  public  lands,  for  this  very  purpose.  Ei- 
ther of  these  ways  would  be  just  and  equitable  ;  for, 
let  slavery  be  a  curse  or  a  blessing,  all  parts  of  our 
country  have  become  implicated,  less  or  more,  in  it, 
and  are  therefore  alike  participant  in  its  blessings  or 
curses  :  and  hence  all  are  under  the  like  obligations  to 
contribute,  by  every  lawful  means  in  their  power,  toj 
remove  it  from  the  land  and  nation. 

Wqhave  already  seen,  that  slavery  at  one  time 
spread  itself  in  every  col ojiy. in  the  Union,  so  that  at 
the  Revolution  every  State  was  infected,  some  more 
and  some  less,  with  this  plague-spot  upon  our  national 
character  paffd^vhile  those  States  w^hich  shared  in  the"^ 
means  of  transporting  the  negroes  from  Africa  to 
America,  and  therefore  partook  the  most  largely  in  the 
profits  of  the  trade,  have  since  freed  themselves  from 
the  burden,  the  Southern  States  are  left  to  groan  un- 
der the  curse  of  slave-labour,  to  suffer  their  lands  to 
become  sterile  under  their  toil,  and  are  doomed  to  all 
the  horrors  which  slavery  unavoidably  entails  upon 
those  who  uphold  it.  And  if  any  pecuniary  profit  re- 
sulted from  the  slave-trade  and  slavery,  those  States 
w^hich  furnished  the  shipping  and  men,  and  the  capital 
to  carry  it  on,  and  thus  to  sanction  it,  shared  the  most 
largely  in  its  benefits,  and  hence  ought  to  contribute  in. 
proportion  to  do  it  away.  Perhaps  there  is  not  a  city, 
village,  town,  or  farm,  in  the  Northern  and  Middle 


16 

states,  but  that  enjoys,  either  directly  or  indirectly^  the 
benefits  resulting  from  slavery;  for  our  fathers  all 
participated  in  it  some  way — either  by  engaging  in  it 
personally,  by  the  employment  of  capital,  or  sanction- 
inp-  the  traffic.  They  are,  therefore,  as  much  bound  as 
are  the  slave-holders  themselves  to  contribute  of  their 
substance,  as  well  as  by  word,  to  wipe  this  foul  stain 
from  our  national  character. 

If,  then,  the  citizens  of  the  country  should  all,  east, 
west,  north,  and  south,  unite  together  in  petitioning 
Congress  to  levy  a  tax  upon  themselves,  in  proportion 
to  their  property,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  gen- 
eral government  to  present  to  the  slave-holding  States 
this  motive  to  liberate  their  slaves,  the  expense  would 
fall  equally  upon  all.  The  slave-holders  themselves 
would  have  to  bear  an  equal  share  of  the  burden. 

And  what  a  sublime  spectacle  would  this  present  to 
the  world !  A  nation  of  freemen,  all  exerting  them- 
selves, consenting  to  sacrifice  a  portion  of  their  pro- 
perty to  rid  themselves  of  the  weight  of  slavery ! 
Surely,  methinks,  God,  and  angels,  and  every  good 
man  throughout  the  wide  world,  would  look  with  de- 
light on  such  a  Christian,  such  a  philanthropic,  such  a 

^_Godlike  enterprise.  And  whose  heart  does  not  thrill 
with  inexpressible  pleasure,  even  while  anticipating  an 
event  pregnant  with  so  many  untold  blessings,  which 
would  flow  in  upon  master  and  slave  the  moment  uni- 
versal emancipation  should  be  proclaimed? 

^  It  may  be  asked.  What  shall  be  done  with  these 
numerous  slaves>^hen  s^-^ree  ?  To  this  I  answer, 
that  after  providing  for  "tlie  aged  and  infirm,  and  those 
too  young  to  take  care  of  themselves,  the  rest,  who  are 
able  to  labour,  could  be  hired  by  their  masters  at  a  sti- 
pulated price,  or  their  masters  might  let  them  cultivate 


17 

the  land  upon  shares,  or  the  emancipated  slave  might 
be  at  liberty,  if  he  chose,  to  transport  himself  to  Libe- 
ria ;  or  Congress  might  allow  so  much  new  land  to^ 
every  negro  that  would  agree  to  cultivate  it.  There 
are  ways  enough  by  which  the  liberated  slave  could  be 
provided  for,  without  any  danger  or  detriment  to  him- 
self or  master,  provided  only  that  suitable  measures 
should  be  adopted  for  his  liberation. 

For  myself,  I  would  not  advise  that  immediate  and 
unconditional  emancipation  should  take  place.  Laws 
could  be  so  framed  and  enacted,  as  to  provide  for  a 
gradual  emancipation ;  say,  all  at  such  an  age  should 
be  free,  from  time  to  time,  until  finally  an  era  would  be 
fixed  when  slavery  should  cease  to  exist  in  such  a 
State,  and  then  another,  until  all  should  proclaim  free^ 
dom  to  their  slaves.  And  what  a  glorious  era  would 
this  be  to  the  State  that  should  thus  propose  liberty  to 
its  slaves ! 

In  the  mean  time,  preparations  could  be  made  for^ 
emancipation.  The  slaves  should  be  instructed  into 
the  nature,  principles,  duties,  and  privileges  of  free- 
men ;  and  more  especially  the  duties  they  owe  to  God 
and  man,  the  duties  and  privileges  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, those  precepts  which  forbid  all  acts  of  violence, 
revenge,  and  rebellion,  and  which  require  the  dis- 
charge of  those  reciprocal  obligations  which  originata*. 
from  the  social  relations  of  human  society.  Thus  iil- 
structed,  by  which  their  minds  would  be  duly  impressed 
with  these  obligations,  they  would  be  prepared  to  re- 
ceive their  freedom  as  a  precious  boon  from  heaven, 
and  then  to  enjoy  and  improve  their  social  state,  and 
to  discharge  the  duties  of  free  citizens  of  this  then 
thrice  happy  republic,  in  peace  and  prosperity. 

This  method,  by  preparing  the  slaves  to  receive  and 
3 


18 

eiijoy  their  freedom,  would  avoid  that  convulsion  which 
would  be  likely  to  result  from  an  immediate,  uncondi- 
tional, and  indiscriminate  emancipation.  The  slave 
would  be  thus  prepared  to  appreciate  his  privileges  as 
a  free  citizen,  qualified  to  discharge  the  duties  result- 
ing from  his  new  relation,  and  could  intelligibly  enter 
into  those  enjoyments  of  social  life  as  a  husband,  a 
father,  a  son ;  and  the  female  could  also  appreciate 
the  felicities  of  a  free  wife,  mother,  or  daughter ;  and 
so,  by  honest  industry  and  good  economy,  procure  a 
comfortable  living,  entitled  to  all  the  common  blessings 
of  free  men  and  women. 

I  can  hardly  allow  myself  to  express,  even  m  anti- 
cipation, the  blessings  which  must  inevitably  result 
from  such  a  mode  of  emancipation.  To  behold  4,000,- 
000  human  beings  ultimately  set  free  from  the  shackles 
of  slavery,  instructed  into  the  knowledge  of  their  duty 
to  God  and  man,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of 
freemen  ;  many  of  them,  as  they  now  are,  happy  in 
the  love  of  God — O,  this  is  "  a  consummation  "  not 
only  "to  be  devoutly  wished,"  but  to  be  laboured  for 
heartily,  perseveringly,  and  prayerfully,  by  every  lover 
of  his  species,  in  every  part  of  the  world. 

In  the  next  chapter,  I  shall  consider  some  of  the  ob- 
jections to  this  plan  of  emancipation. 


CHAPTER   V. 

OBJECTION  ANSWERED ALL   BOUND  TO   DO    SOMETHING, 

BECAUSE     ALL    ARE     IMPLICATED    IN    THE     EVILS     OF 
SLAVERY. 

To  the  proposition,  that  a  certain  sum  should  be  allowed 
the  slave-holder,  to  induce  him  to  liberate  his  slave,  it 
will  doubtless  be  objected  by  some,  that  it  would  be 
an  acknowledgment  of  the  right  of  property  in  the 
slave,  and  therefore  they  could  not  conscientiously 
submit  to  it.  I  allow  that  it  would  be  recognizing  such 
a  right— but  what  then?  If  the  view  I  have  before 
taken  of  this  subject  be  correct,  as  I  fully  believe  it  is, 
namely,  that  all  the  States — those  now  free,  as  well  as 
those  yet  involved  in  the  evils  of  slavery — participated 
in  the  pecuniary  profits  of  the  slave-trade,  then  it  fol- 
lows that  they  all  share  in  holding  the  property  derived 
from  the  traffic ;  and  I  do  not  know  but  the  injustice  is 
as  glaring  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other,  with  only 
this  difference — the  one  holds  his  property  free  of  the 
encumbrance  of  slavery,  and  the  other  has  the  evil 
entailed  upon  him  and  his  posterity.  Yet,  even  allow- 
ing that  those  w^ho  now  hold  slaves  have  no  moral 
right  to  them,  is  it  not  far  better  to  yield  to  their  pre- 
judices in  this  respect,  than  to  suffer  them  to  go  on  in 
the  commission  of  this  moral  wrong,  from  one  gene- 
ration to  another  ?  But  the  fact  is,  we  are  all,  if  not 
equally  guilty,  yet  guilty,  in  this  matter  ;  and  if  one  is 
guilty  of  moral  wTong,  so  is  the  other — and  we  must 
make  amends  for  the  wrong  in  tlie  best  way  we  can, 
which  is,  as  far  as  I  can  conceive,  to  forsake  the  evil, 
and  then  to  show  the  genuineness  of  our  repentance 


20 

by  making,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  restitution.  Hence  we 
are  all  bound  to  do  something  to  extirpate  this  evil  from 
among  us ;  and  we  are  bound  to  do  something  besides 
simply  declaiming  against  it.  It  is  indeed  the  easiest 
thing  in  the  world  to  decry  an  evil,  to  expose  and  con- 
demn it ;  but  it  requires  a  mighty  effort,  it  requires  a 
sacrifice  of  time  and  money,  to  remove  it;  and  more 
especially  such  a  gigantic  evil  as  slavery  is  acknow- 
ledged to  be  in  our  country. 

But  allovvmg  that  the  slave-trade  was  an  enormous 
moral  wrong,  an  offence  against  the  laws  of  God  and 
man,  as  it  undoubtedly  was,  and  that  those  who  came 
originally  into  the  possession  of  slave  property,  came 
into  its  possession  in  violation  of  the  principles  of  justice 
and  mercy — still,  most  of  those  who  now  hold  slaves 
in  our  country,  inherited  them  from  their  ancestors,  and 
therefore  are  not  responsible  for  the  manner  in  which 
they  were  acquired.  They  found  themselves  in  pos- 
session of  this  sort  of  property,  independently  of  their 
own  choice  or  act,  and,  in  many  instances,  contrary  to 
their  wishes.  Surely,  if  these  can  be  aided  in  their 
desire  for  emancipation,  hy  abolishing  those  State  laws 
which  forbid  the  masters  from  freeing  their  slaves,  even 
though  it  require  a  contribution  of  a  portion  of  our  sub- 
stance for  that  purpose,  should  it  not  be  done  ? 

Allowing,  as  I  believe  we  must,  that  some  slave- 
holders treat  their  slaves  with  cruelty ;  overwork,  and 
even  maltreat  them  in  a  variety  of  ways  ;  sell  them  into 
perpetual  bondage,  without  any  regard  to  the  endearing 
relations  of  husband  and  wife,  parents  and  children ; 
and  that  they  love  slavery  on  account  of  its  gains ;  yet 
it  must  be  also  allowed  that  there  are  many  others  who 
groan  under  it  as  a  burden  they  bear  very  reluctantly  ; 
who   treat   their   slaves    humanely,   with   justice    and 


21 

Christian  kindness,  and  strive  to  mitigate  the  severity 
of  their  bondage  as  far  as  they  consistently  can,  and 
who  would  throw  off  the  incubus  if  they  could.  These, 
therefore,  w^ll  gladly  accept  of  any  feasible  plan  to  rid 
themselves  of  the  burden.  Let  us  aid  them  by  om' 
prayers,  by  our  counsel,  and  by  our  money,  even 
though,  while  helping  them,  we  are  compelled  to  help 
those  less  deserving  of  our^ attention,  that  they  may  no 
longer  have  it  in  their  power  to  inflict  this  wrong  upon 
the  hapless  race  of  African  slaves. 

Do  not  those  who  refuse  their  pecuniary  aid  for  the 
purpose  of  effecting  emancipation,  evince  the  same  love 
of  money  as  the  slave-holders  do  in  exacting  the  labour 
of  the  slave,  without  a  fair  compensation  ?  And  if  they 
pertinaciously  withhold  this  sort  of  aid,  when  they  may 
afford  it,  are  they  not  alike  guilty  with  the  slave-holder 
himself,  of  contributing  to  perpetuate  the  system? 

These  are  questions  which  should  come  home  to 
every  man's  bosom ;  and  though  they  make  their  appeal 
to  his  purse,  they  must  at  the  same  time  affect  his 
conscience,  and  cause  him  to  tremble  under  a  fearful 
sense  of  his  high  responsibility  to  his  God  and  his 
country.  Now,  as  we  are  all  guilty,  less  or  more,  of 
the  evil  of  slavery,  having  partaken  of  its  wrong,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  we  are  all  bound  to  contribute 
our  quota  to  remove  it  out  of  the  way. 

Besides,  there  is  no  part  of  this  country,  nor  even  of 
Europe,  and  more  especially  of  England,  but  what  par- 
takes, more  or  less,  of  the  fruits  of  slave-labour.  Every 
inch  of  cotton  that  is  worn,  or  used  as  an  article  of 
merchandise ;  most  of  the  sugar  sold  and  bought  for 
domestic  purposes ;  the  rice  that  is  eaten,  as  well  as 
other  articles  of  daily  consumption,  are  produced  by 
the  labour  and  sweat  of  the  negro  slave.     And  will  our 


22 

consciences  allow  us  to  use  tliese  things  without  scruple, 
and  to  conduct  large  cotton  manufactories,  in  which 
thousands  of  hands  are  employed,  and  many  capitalists 
are  every  year  growing  richer  and  richer;  and  yet  are 
our  consciences  so  tender  and  scrupulous,  that  they 
will  not  permit  us  to  contribute  a  mite  toward  liberating 
the  poor  wretches  who  are  the  instruments  of  our  wealth 
and  luxury  ?  Away  with  all  such  empty  and  heartless 
excuses !  It  is  to  be  feared  that  they  have  their  foun- 
dation in  selfishness  rather  than  in  philanthropy — that 
the  love  of  gain,  rather  than  the  love  of  justice,  is  the 
spring  of  action  in  this  matter. 

Do  you  say,  that  if  slavery  be  done  away,  the  cotton 
could  not  be  successfully  cultivated,  the  rice  could  not 
be  raised,  nor  the  sugar  manufactured  ?  Well,  suppose 
this  w^ere  even  so ;  w^ould  it  not  be  far  preferable  to  deny 
ourselves  of  these  luxuries,  to  dry  up  this  source  of 
wealth,  to  take  to  our  Indian  meal,  to  our  flaxen  shirts, 
as  formerly  prepared  by  our  hardy  mothers,  and  sub- 
stitute Indian  pudding,  the  good  old  food  of  New- 
England,  for  rice  pudding,  rather  than  to  contribute  to 
the  perpetuation  of  slavery  in  this  country  ?  This  ob- 
jection is  also  founded  in  selfishness,  and  derives  all  its 
strength  from  avarice  and  luxury. 

But  in  fact  it  has  no  foundation  in  truth.  The  cotton- 
fields,  the  sugar  and  rice  plantations,  could  be  as  suc- 
cessfully cultivated  by  hired  negro  servants,  or  by 
farming  out  the  plantations  on  equitable  shares,  as  they 
now  are,  if  not  indeed  with  less  expense,  and  far  more 
profit  to  the  land-holders.  As  to  slave-labour,  it  is  ac- 
knowledged on  all  hands,  I  believe,  to  be  the  most 
unproductive  of  any.  The  chief  motive  which  propels 
the  slave  to  his  toil  is  the  fear  of  punishment ;  so  that 
the  whip  of  the  merciless  overseer  supplies  the  lack  of 


23 

internal  motive,  and  this  makes  the  slave  a  thousand 
times  more  the  drudge  of  his  master,  than  he  otherwise 
would  be  :  whereas,  let  him  be  taught,  as  mv  gradual 
process  of  emancipation  supposes  he  must  be,  the 
nature  of  freedom,  the  necessity  of  industry  and 
economy ;  and  then  let  him  be  equitably  compensated 
for  his  labour,  either  by  paying  him  a  stipulated  price, 
or  allowing  him  a  specified  task,  all  over  vv^hich  shall 
be  his  own,  or  else  farming  out  the  land  to  him  on 
shares  ;  and  you  supply  him  with  a  motive,  such  a 
strong  and  propelling  motive  as  the  God  that  made  us 
intended  should  actuate  us,  to  labour  on  from  the  hope 
of  receiving  a  suitable  reward.  Double  the  work  would 
be  done,  more  crops  would  be  reaped,  and  thus  the 
landholder  and  his  workmen  would  be  mutually  bene- 
fited, and  all  would  be  a  thousand  times  more  contented 
and  happy. 

This  objection,  therefore,  has  no  foundation  in  truth  ; 
and,  even  if  it  had,  it  ought  not  to  militate  against  the 
proposed  plan  of  emancipation,  inasmuch  as  the  sacri- 
fice, were  it  required,  ought  to  be  made,  to  secure  the 
incalculable  benefits  which  would  inevitably  result  to 
the  human  race  from  universal  freedom. 

The  Abolitionists,  as  w^ell  as  all  others  who  plead 
the  cause  of  emancipation,  appeal  to  England  as  an 
example  worthy  of  our  imitation.  And  how  did  Eng- 
land effect  the  freedom  of  her  slaves  in  her  West  Indian 
possessions  ?  Was  it  not  by  paying  a  price  to  the  co- 
lonial slaveholders?  Did  she  not  appropriate  twenty 
millions  of  pounds  sterling  to  remunerate  them  for  their 
losses  ?  And  I  confess  that  this  act  of  the  British  Par- 
liament at  first  suggested  the  plan  of  American  eman- 
,  cipation  for  which  I  now  plead,  though  it  is  not  analo- 
I  gous  in  all  respects  to  that.     There  is  this  difiference 


24 

ill  the  jurisdiction  which  England  exercises  over  her 
colonial  possessions,  and  the  jurisdiction  which  the 
general  government  of  our  country  possesses  over  the 
individual  States.  The  government  ■  of  Great  Britain 
exercises  an  absolute  sway  over  her  colonies,  and 
therefore  it  has  but  to  speak  the  word,  and  the  work 
is  done.  But  even  the  British  government  saw  the  in- 
justice of  compelling  the  planters  in  the  West  Indies 
to  liberate  their  slaves  without  a  compensation,  and 
hence  appropriated  twenty  millions  of  pounds  sterling 
as  a  reward  for  their  sacrifices.  The  American  Con- 
gress possesses  no  jurisdiction  over  the  State  Legisla- 
tures in  respect  to  slavery,  but  it  is  left  entirely  under 
the  control  of  the  individual  States,  and  hence  the 
Congress  can  only  act  upon  them  indirectly,  by  pre- 
senting them  motives  as  inducements  to  adopt  such 
measures  as  they  may  see  fit  for  the  liberation  of  their 
slaves. 

Great  Britain  has  done  well  to  set  an  example  to 
other  nations,  in  proclaiming  liberty  to  her  slaves.  She 
owed  it  to  herself  thus  to  atone  for  her  past  trans- 
gressions ;  for  she  partook  more  largely  than  any  other 
nation  of  Europe  in  the  oppressive  and  demoralizing 
slave-trade,  monopolizing,  at  one  time,  nearly  the  whole 
of  it  to  herself;  and  so  enamoured  w^as  she  of  the  de- 
lectable traffic,  that  even  the  virgin  Queen  Elizabeth 
became  a  partner  in  the  monopolizing  company,  that 
she  might  share  in  the  profits,  and  finally  issued  de- 
crees to  oblige  the  American  colonists, — with  a  view  to 
open  a  market  for  the  slaves,  in  order  that  she  might 
thereby  accumulate  the  profits  of  their  sale, — to  admit 
the  imported  Africans,  that  they  might  cultivate  their 
lands.  I  say,  therefore,  that  England  did  well  to  take 
the  lead  in  this  grand  enterprise  of  justice  and  benevo- 


26 

lelice,  that  thereby  she  might,  as  far  as  possible,  wipef 
the  foul  stain  of  slavery,  with  which  it  had  been  blotted 
for  more  than  a  century,  from  her  national  escutcheon. 
Her  merchants  and  her  statesmen  had  long  defiled 
themselves  with  the  blood  of  the  African,  had  enriched 
themselves  by  deeds  of  robbery  and  carnage,  and  had 
clothed  their  sons  and  daughters  with  "  scarlet  and 
fine  linen,"  by  the  profits  arising  from  kidnapping  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  Africa,  and  selhnEg  them  into 
perpetual  bondage ;  and,  therefore,  the  least  that  they 
could  do  to  repair  the  wTongs  they  had  inflicted  upon 
bleeding  Africa,  and  the  curse  they  had  entailed  upon 
America,  was  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives.  This 
they  have  done,  and  done  it  nobly.  Let  us  forget  their 
wrong  doings,  and  imitate  their  example  of  justice  and 
benevolence.  And  thoug-h  our  Cong-ress  cannot  con- 
stitutionally  interfere  directly,  by  any  act  of  legislation, 
with  slavery  as  it  exists  in  the  several  States,  with  a 
view  to  compel  them  to  free  their  slaves,  yet  this 
highest  judicatory  of  the  nation  may  be  moved  by  the 
voice  of  the  people — the  people,  rising  in  their  majesty, 
and  coming  forward  under  the  influence  of  Christian 
justice  and  the  sympathies  of  humanity,  generously 
pledging  their  "  free-will  oflferings,"  to  enable  the  Con- 
gress to  redeem  the  character  of  the  country,  without 
requiring  the  entire  sacrifice  of  individual  property — 
to  offer  such  inducements  to  the  individual  slave  States 
as  shall  lead  them  to  proclaim  emancipation  to  their 
slaves,  on  the  principles  of  justice  and  humanity. 

I  have  much  more  to  say  on  this  subject,  and  there- 
fore entreat  my  readers  to  hear  me  patiently,  and  not 
condemn  me  before  they  have  heard  me  through.  I 
shall  then  leave  them  to  act  in  the  premises,  according 
to  the  dictates  of  a  calm  and  deliberate  judgment. 
4 


CHAPTER  VI 

ANOTHER  OBJECTION  ANSWERED — THE  SLOWNESS  OF 
THE  PROCESS  CONSIDERED. 

It  may  be  objected  by  others,  that  this  plan  of  eman- 
cipation will  be  too  slow, — that  it  will  require  years  for 
its  completion, — whereas  it  is  the  duty  of  the  slave- 
holder to  set  his  slaves  free  immediately,  without  any 
delay. 

Allowing  this  to  be  so,  I  w^ould  ask, — Has  it  been 
done  ?  or  is  it  likely  to  be  done  ?  Have  the  means  that 
have  been  used  to  induce  him  to  do  it,  produced  the 
desired  result  ?  or  is  there  any  likelihood  that  the  appli- 
cation of  similar  means  will  produce  this  result  ? 

Before  this  can  be  done,  a  great  change  must  come 
over  the  public  mind.  It  must  become  enlightened  ; 
motives,  strong  and  commanding,  must  be  presented  to 
the  slave-holder,  to  induce  him  to  liberate  his  slaves ; 
and  all  this  implies  the  gradual  process  for  which  I 
am  pleading. 

Besides,  I  very  much  doubt  the  expediency,  even 
were  it  practicable,  of  setting  all  the  slaves  free,  imme- 
diately and  unconditionally,  before  they  are  prepared 
by  instruction,  by  teaching  them  habits  of  industry  and 
economy  ;  thus  gradually  fitting  them  for  self-govern- 
ment, the  manner  of  providing  for  their  own  wants, 
and  taking  care  of  themselves  and  their  families,  that 
they  may  thus  be  prepared  for  the  enjoyment  of  the 
blessings  of  freedom.  In  addition  to  its  endangering 
the  peace  of  society,  by  letting  loose  a  mass  of  igno- 
rant, and,  for  the  most  part,  a  vicious  population,  it 
would  throw  upon  the  community  a  vast  multitude  of 
idle,  improvident  beings,  who  would  neither  work  for 


27 

their  employers  nor  provide  for  themselves,  but  would, 
in  all  probability,  loiter  away  their  time  in  indolence : 
neglectful  of  the  present,  and  regardless  of  the  future, 
they  would  thus  frustrate  the  designs  of  those  who 
proclaimed  their  emancipation. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  West  Indies  immediate  eman- 
cipation produced  favourable  results,  more  especially 
for  the  first  five  or  six  years,  so  that  the  planters  were 
highly  gratified  with  the  experiment.  They  were 
aided,  however,  by  the  instructions  of  the  missionaries, 
and  by  the  vigorous  arm  of  the  law,  enforced  by  a 
despotic  government.  Nevertheless,  with  all  these 
advantages,  they  have  had  their  difficulties  ;  in  many 
instances  the  liberated  slaves  have  manifested  an  unwil- 
lingness to  work,  so  that  labourers  have  been  imported 
from  the  East  Indies,  to  supply  the  lack  of  service  in 
the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

Yet,  whatever  defects  there  may  be  in  the  system, 
according  to  the  report  of  Mr.  Gurney,  a  respectable 
minister  belonging  to  the  Society  of  Friends,  the  free- 
dom of  the  slaves  has  worked  much  to  the  advantage 
of  all  concerned  ;  both  landholder  and  labourer  reaping 
mutual  and  reciprocal  benefit  from  the  change.  How 
much  better  it  might  have  worked  had  emancipation 
been  more  gradual,  ushered  in  with  more  preparation, 
we  cannot  tell.  If  the  slave  States  shall  think  that 
immediate  is  preferable  to  a  gradual  emancipation,  let 
it  be  done,  in  God's  name,  so  that  it  be  done  in  a  way 
which  will  secure  the  safety  and  better  the  condition 
of  all  parties. 

However  this  may  be,  it  is  manifest  that  those  who 
think  that  such  a  great  work  can  be  accomplished  in 
a  day,  a  month,  or  a  year,  have  very  much  mistaken 
the  principles  of  human  nature,  and  calculated  too 


28 

largely  on  the  pliability  of  mankind  to  yield  to  the  de- 
mands of  justice  and  truth.  Nothing  short  of  a  pow- 
erful application  of  religious  truth  to  the  heart,  co-ope- 
ratino-  with  the  lights  of  civilization,  can  break  down 
its  opposition  to  the  requirements  of  justice  and  mercy, 
and  lead  to  the  discharge  of  those  duties  which  origin- 
ate from  our  social  relations  as  fellow-beings  and 
fellow-citizens. 

If  we  look  into  the  history  of  God's  providential 
dealino-s  with  mankind,  we  shall  find  that  his  methods 
of  developing  his  designs  of  mercy  or  of  judgment 
were  matured  by  degrees,  until  ripe  for  execution; 
when,  indeed,  they  were  suddenly  executed,  and  often 
in  a  way  w^hich,  and  at  a  time  w^hen,  men  least  ex- 
pected it.  So  the  emancipation  of  the  Israelites  was 
effected,  after  four  hundred  years  of  hard  bondage  ; 
and  even  thongh  He  led  them  from  the  land  of  Egypt 
by  a  strong  hand — accompanied  by  those  miraculous 
wonders  which  made  the  surrounding  nations  tremble 
for  their  own  safety — confounded  the  machinations  of 
Pharaoh,  and  finally  overthrew  him  and  his  host  in  the 
Red  Sea ;  yet  they  were  doomed  to  wander  forty 
years  in  the  wilderness,  and  it  was  a  long  time  after 
their  entrance  into  the  promised  land  before  they  were 
settled  in  peace  and  prosperity.  And  so  of  many 
other  events  recorded  in  sacred  and  profane  history. 
How  long  was  the  Messiah  promised  before  he  came  ? 
And  how  long  after  his  resurrection  before  the  Gospel 
was  preached  to  all  nations  ? 

No  one  can  doubt  but  that  it  is  the  duty  of  sinners 
to  repent  without  delay.  But  do  they  do  it?  We 
know  they  do  not;  and  what  mighty  preparations 
must  be  made,  and  labour  bestowed,  and  how  lons"  it 
will  be  before  the  *'  knov^^ledge  of  the  Lord  shall  cover 


29 

the  earth  as  the  waters  do  the  great  deep,"  who  can 
tell  ?  The  Christian  Church  has  been  labouring  for 
above  eighteen  centuries  for  the  attainment  of  this 
very  object,  but  it  is  not  yet  accomplished ;  and  w^hen 
it  will  be,  God  only  knows.  Yet  sinners  are  urged 
to  believe  and  repent  as  an  indispensable  and  immedi- 
ate duty. 

So,  also,  allowing  that  it  is  the  duty  of  slave-holders 
to  emancipate  their  slaves  without  delay,  they  do  not 
feel  the  pressure  of  this  obligation,  nor  will  they,  until 
their  minds  are  more  fully  enlightened,  and  their 
hearts  more  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  duty ;  and 
even  then,  they  will,  doubtless,  perceive  the  necessity 
of  having  their  manumitted  slaves  provided  for  in  some 
way  that  shall  be  hkely  to  secure  their  well-being. 
As  before  said,  a  mode  of  instruction  must  be  insti- 
tuted, not  only  as  regards  moral  and  religious  subjects, 
and  the  knowledge  of  agriculture,  but  also  in  mechan- 
ical pursuits,  that  they  may  know  how  to  provide  for 
themselves  and  their  households,  whenever  they  shall 
be  exalted  to  the  rank  of  citizens  of  this  free  country ; 
they  will  then  know  how^  to  appreciate  and  enjoy 
its  immunities  and  privileges.  Let  this  great  work, 
then,  be  begun  immediately ;  for  the  sooner  it  is  be- 
gun, the  sooner  it  will  be  completed. 

How  long  w^as  it  after  the  celebrated  Clarkson  com- 
menced his  energetic  labours  against  the  slave-trade, 
before  he  succeeded  in  procuring  its  abolishment !  And 
how  long  had  the  nations  of  Europe  groaned  under  it, 
before  even  he  waked  up  to  see  its  enormities !  This 
horrid  traffic  had,  to  the  disgrace  of  civilized  Europe, 
been  carried  on  from  the  time  the  Portuguese  began 
it,  in  1481,  for  upward  of  three  centuries,  when  Clark- 
son,  in  1785,  wrote  his  prize  ''  Essay  on  the  Slavery 


30 

5ind  Commerce  of  Human  Species,  particularly  the 
Africans,"  and  thereby  shed  a  ray  of  light  into  the 
minds  of  British  statesmen,  philanthropists,  and  Chris- 
tians, by  which  they  were  moved  to  take  this  subject 
into  consideration.  From  this  auspicious  beginning, 
Clarkson,  Wilberforce,  and  other  intelhgent  statesmen, 
laboured  on,  in  the  midst  of  the  most  violent  and  formi- 
dable opposition,  for  about  twenty-five  years,  before 
they  succeeded  in  getting  the  bill  through  the  two 
Houses  of  Parliament,  prohibiting  the  slave-trade  ;  and 
from  1807,  when  this  famous  bill  was  passed,  until 
1828,  when  the  act  was  passed  making  an  appropria- 
tion for  the  liberation  of  the  slaves  in  the  West  Indies, 
slavery  existed  in  the  British  dominions,  when  it  was 
finally  abolished  by  a  solemn  act  of  legislation,  as 
magnanimous  as  it  was  Christian  and  Godlike  !  Here, 
then,  w^as  an  example  of  the  slow  process  by  which 
the  human  mind  is  enlightened,  so  as  to  receive  and 
act  upon  the  principles  of  justice  and  humanity. 
Though  Clarkson,  aided  as  he  was  by  the  powerful 
influence  and  eloquence  of  Wilberforce,  of  Pitt,  Fox, 
Sheridan,  and  other  eminent  statesmen  in  the  British 
Parliament,  who  brouo^ht  the  w^hole  weio^ht  of  their 
talents  to  bear  on  the  side  of  truth  and  right,  yet  he 
and  they  met  with  defeat  after  defeat,  enough  to  dis- 
courage no  ordinary  minds,  until,  finally,  by  indefati- 
gable labours  and  steady  perseverance,  they  overcame 
all  opposition,  carried  the  majority  of  the  nation  with 
them,  won  for  themselves  a  deathless  fame,  by  record- 
ing upon  the  statute-book  of  Great  Britain  that  slavery 
should  no  longer  disgrace  the  pages  of  her  history ! 
Let  this  noble  example  stimulate  us  to  like  exertions 
for  the  accomplishment  of  a  similar  object. 

But  let  the  w^ork  be  gradual  or  instantaneous,  it 
must  be  done,  if  done  at  all,  by  the  nation.     It  is  a 


31 

work  in  which  the  xA.merican  nation  have  a  deep  and 
an  abiding  interest.  It  is  a  work,  indeed,  in  which 
every  individual  capable  of  understanding  and  acting 
is  bound  to  take  a  part,  because  every  such  individual 
is  more  or  less  implicated  in  the  evils  of  slavery.  It 
will  not  do,  therefore^  for  any  one  to  sit  down  in  su- 
pineness,  fold  his  hands,  and  say,  ''  It  does  not  con- 
cern me  ;  I  am  no  slave-holder,  and  therefore  I  am  not 
responsible  for  the  evil."  Indeed  you  are !  You  are 
''verily  guilty  of  your  brother's  blood."  You  have 
contributed,  either  personally  or  by  your  ancestors,  or 
are  a  partaker,  either  by  sharing  the  profits,  or  eating 
and  wearing  the  fruit  of  slave-labour.  You  are,  there- 
fore, bound  in  honour  and  conscience  by  the  laws  of 
God — the  God  of  impartial  justice,  who  ''  visits  the  in- 
iquities of  the  fathers  upon  the  children,  unto  the  third 
and  fourth  generation  of  them  that  hate  him ;"  that  is, 
those  children  who  walk  in  the  steps  of  their  fathers, 
who  manifested  their  hatred  to  God  by  violating  hi& 
precepts ; — I  say  you  are  bound  in  honour  and  con- 
science to  do  all  in  your  power  to  remove  this  great 
evil  from  among  ns.  You  are  not  only  bound  to  re- 
pent, to  humble  yourself  before  God  and  man,  but 
also,  as  far  as  in  you  lies,  "  to  restore  that  which  you 
took  violently  away,  or  the  thing  which  you  have  de- 
ceitfully gotten,"  Leviticus  vi,  4,  5 ;  and  thus  ta 
make  restitution,  to  those  you  have  injured,  whether 
wittingly  or  unwittingly,  by  contributing  of  your  sub- 
stance, and  aiding  by  your  influence,  to  accomplish 
this  grand  object. 

O  that  the  American  nation  might  aivalit  up  to  the 
importance  of  this  subject ! 

In  my  next  I  shall  endeavour  to  present  some  mo- 
tives to  the  slave-holder  himself,  to  induce  him  to  set 
about  the  work  of  emancipation. 


CHAPTER  VII 

MOTIVES  TO  EMANCIPATION DUTIES  OF  SLAVE-HOLDERS. 

I  APPREHEND  the  greatest  difficulty  we  shall  have  to 
encounter,  will  be  found  in  the  slave-holders  them- 
selves ; — not  indeed  in  all  of  them,  for  I  know  that  there 
are  many  who  groan  under  slavery  as  an  evil  from 
which  they  would  gladly  rid  themselves,  if  they  could. 
As  yet,  however,  they  have  seen  no  way  of  escape 
from  this  irksome  burden.  From  all  such,  then,  I  an- 
ticipate a  hearty  response  to  my  proposition  for  eman- 
cipation, and  a  cordial  co-operation  in  any  plan  that 
will  be  likely  to  accomplish  the  desired  object.  And 
I  speak  with  the  more  confidence  to  such,  because  I 
know,  from  personal  acquaintance  and  friendly  inter- 
course, that  they  do  not  regard  me  as  an  enemy  ;  and 
neither  do  I  regard  them  as  enemies  to  God  and  man, 
as  merciless  tyrants  over  their  slaves,  nor  as  sanction- 
ing any  act  of  wickedness,  either  among  the  slaves 
themselves,  or  among  those  who  rule  over  them.  On 
the  contrary,  they  wish  to  treat  their  slaves  w^ith  justice 
and  humanity ;  to  regulate  their  intercourse  with  them 
by  the  law^s  of  Christian  kindness ;  to  provide  for  their 
w^ants,  and  in  all  things  to  do  by  them  as  they  would 
wish  to  be  done  by  in  like  circumstances. 

Now,  to  such  I  would  say, — Will  you  not  help  to  free 
the  land  from  the  great  evil  of  slavery  ?  Will  you  not 
lend  the  weight  of  your  character,  your  influence, 
your  purse,  your  counsel,  and  prayers,  to  induce  your 
neighbours,  your  friends,  your  fellow-citizens,  and  your 
fellow-Christians,  to  come  into  any  measures,  to  adopt 
any  feasible  plan,  with  a  view  to  effect  the  emancipa- 


33 

tion  of  your  slaves  ?  If  you  are  convinced,  as  1  verily 
believe  you  are,  of  the  evils  of  slavery,  will  you  not 
speak  to  your  acquaintance,  in  the  spirit  of  frankness 
and  kindness,  on  the  subject ;  propose  to  them  some 
plan  for  their  removal ;  confer  v^ith  them  as  brethren— 
if  not  as  members  of  the  same  Chm'ch,  yet  as  members 
of  the  same  human  family,  as  possessing  a  community 
of  interests  with  them,  as  having  a  common  property 
in  the  welfare  of  the  human  species,  and  particularly 
in  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  your  beloved  country  ? 
Confer  with  them,  I  say,  on  the  most  likely  means  of 
meliorating  the  condition  of  the  slave,  and  preparing 
the  vray  finally  for  effecting  his  emancipation.  If  you 
do  not  approve  of  the  plan  by  which  I  propose  to  ac- 
complish this  object,  propose  a  better  one,  and  you 
shall  have  my  hearty  co-operation,  and,  I  doubt  not, 
also  the  co-operation  of  every  friend  to  humanity.  I 
have  given  you  my  light,  and  if  you  have  a  clearer 
one,  hold  it  up,  that  we  may  see  and  follow  it ;  for  I 
am  by  no  means  so  tenacious  of  my  own  plans  and 
views  as  to  think  there  can  be  no  others,  though  they 
are  the  best  that  I  am  able  to  devise. 

But  I  have  given  you  merely  the  outlines,  leaving 
the  plan  to  be  filled  up  by  those  to  whom  it  more  pro- 
perly belongs,  namely,  the  legislators  of  our  country ; 
the  details  can  be  carried  out  in  due  time  by  those  who 
shall  take  it  up  and  act  upon  it.  If  you  have  any  im- 
-provements  to  make,  propose  them,  that  others  may 
examine  them  calmly  and  deliberately ;  for  I  desire 
that  this  momentous  subject  should  be  weighed  most 
maturely,  in  the  fear  of  God,  as  such  a  subject,  in- 
volving the  fate  of  so  many  millions  of  immortal  beings, 
imperatively  demands. 

I  would  not,  indeed,  say  a  word,  or  wTite  a  sentence, 
5 


34 

which  should  justly  h'ritate  the  passions,  stir  up  ill-will, 
or  provoke  hatred  or  animosity  in  the  breast  of  any 
man,  whether  he  be  pro-slavery  or  anti-slavery.  I 
would,  if  possible,  avoid  all  harsh  and  contemptuous 
epithets,  calling  hard  names,  all  needless  censures  of 
the  past,  or  reproaches  for  the  present,  and  look  at  the 
subject  with  the  utmost  calmness,  as  those  who  must 
give  an  account  in  the  great  day,  and  whose  sayings 
and  actions  are  to  be  scanned  by  their  contemporaries 
in  both  hemispheres,  and  reviewed  by  their  posterity. 

In  the  light  of  all  these  facts,  I  would  ask,  whether 
slavery  be  not  an  evil  to  be  deprecated  by  all  good 
men,  good  Christians,  and  good  patriots  ?  If  so,  as  I 
believe  it  must  be,  is  it  not  the  imperative  duty  of  all 
such  men  to  use  their  utmost  influence,  their  most  in- 
defatigable endeavours,  to  do  it  away  ?  And  allowing 
the  truth  of  this,  can  any  man  remain  guiltless  in  the 
sight  of  God,  and  not  put  forth  his  utmost  efforts  in  this 
grand  enterprise  ?  And  let  it  be  remembered,  that  no 
one  knows  what  he  can  do  until  he  makes  the  trial. 
In  God's  name,  therefore,  let  us  step  forth.  In  his 
name  let  us  seize  hold  of  the  pillars  of  the  temple  of 
slavery,  and  bear  them  away  upon  the  shoulders  of 
faith  and  prayer — and  even  should  we  die  in  the  at- 
tempt, we  shall  slay  a  thousand  times  more  evils  in 
our  death,  than  we  had  done  in  all  our  lives  before. 

I  hope  it  is  not  too  late  to  begin  the  work,  although 
I  confess  that  I  have  delayed  to  utter  my  thoughts  upon 
it,  until  I  dare  not  delay  any  longer,  lest  I  sin  against 
the  generation  of  my  fathers.  It  has  long  occupied  my 
mind,  and  some  of  my  confidential  friends,  to  whom  I 
have  occasionally  suggested  my  plan,  urged  me  to 
write,  and  publish  my  thoughts  upon  it.  To  these  I 
replied,  No ;  the  time  has  not  yet  come ;  the  public 


35 

mind  is  too  much  excited — this  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
aboHtion  excitement — to  listen  calmly  to  reason  and 
argument.  Give  it  time  to  cool  down,  and  then  it  will 
hearken  to  sober  counsel.  That  time,  I  think,  has 
come.  The  public  mind  is  now  calm ;  the  war  of 
words  has  measurably  subsided ;  the  Oregon  question 
is  settled,  and  the  brush  with  Mexico  ended — and 
though  some  little  ripples  disturb  the  surface  of  society, 
by  the  disputes  between  Northern  and  Southern  Me- 
thodists, yet  I  do  not  consider  them  of  such  a  nature 
as  to  interrupt  for  any  length  of  time,  or  to  any  con- 
siderable extent,  the  flow  of  brotherly  love — at  any 
rate,  not  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  prevent  the  inter- 
change of  friendly  thought  on  a  subject  of  such  im- 
portance as  is  involved  in  the  one  under  consideration. 

But  whether  I  have  hit  on  the  most  proper  time  or 
not,  I  have  at  length  yielded  to  the  dictates  of  my  con- 
science, and  have  thus  thrown  myself  upon  the  indul- 
gence of  my  readers,  in  the  hope  that  I  may  be  instru- 
mental of  awakening  attention  to  this,  to  me,  all- 
absorbing  subject. 

Forgive  this  apparent  egotism.  I  thought  it  due  to 
myself  to  give  this  piece  of  information  in  relation  to 
my  own  private  thoughts,  as  well  to  apologize  for 
myself  as  to  assure  my  readers  that  I  have  not  obtruded 
myself  upon  their  attention  without  having  calmly  con- 
sidered the  subject,  nor  rushed  heedlessly  upon  it  with- 
out what  appeared  to  me  good  and  justifiable  reasons. 
And  if  I  should  succeed  in  drawing  public  attention  to 
it,  so  as  to  set  the  ball  in  motion  which  shall  finally 
roll  off  the  burden  of  slavery  from  my  beloved  country, 
I  shall  think  that  I  have  not  lived  in  vain,  nor  ^'  spent 
my  strength  for  naught."  Nay,  having  done  thus  much, 
though  so  little  as  only  to  have  commenced  the  work, 


36 

with  even  the  smallest  prospect  of  its  ultimate  success,  I 
think  I  should  not  only  die  in  greater  peace,  but  shout 
victory  to  God  and  the  Lamb  with  more  holy  triumph 
in  the  hour  of  dissolution. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

MOTIVES  TO  EMANCIPATION — DANGER  OF  SLAVERY  TO 
THE  PEACE  OF  THE  WHITE  POPULATION. 

No  CONSIDERATE  man  can,  I  think,  look  upon  slavery 
in  our  country  v^^ith  indifference,  especially  when  he 
views  it  in  connexion  with  the  permanence  of  our 
institutions,  and  the  continuance  of  our  national  pros- 
perity. 

The  history  of  the  world  wdll  develop  the  many 
fearful  examples  in  which  those  who  had  long  groaned 
in  slavery  at  last  arose  against  their  oppressors,  burst 
their  bonds  asunder,  and  finally  asserted  their  liberties, 
and  then  became  in  turn  the  tyrannical  rulers  of  their 
former  masters.  This  is  according  to  the  general  order 
of  God's  providence.  Without  going  back  to  the  ages 
of  antiquity  for  a  proof  and  illustration  of  this  remark, 
we  need  but  glance  at  St.  Domingo,  in  the  West  Indies, 
and  at  many  of  the  South  American  States.  In  the 
former,  the  black  slaves  rose  against  their  white  mas- 
ters, and  massacred  them  with  blood-thirsty  fury,  and 
finally  succeeded  in  taking  the  government  of  the 
island  into  their  ow^n  hands.  In  the  latter,  the  old 
Spanish  tyranny  has  given  place  to  the  rule  of  the 
Creoles  of  the  country,^  many  of  whom  are  a  mixture 

*  According  to  the  statistics  of  Mexico,  lately  published,  it   contains  a  popula- 
tion of  7,00G,000,  of  whom  4,000,000  are  Indians,  2,000,000  niulattoes,  6,000 


37 

of  Spanish,  Indian,  and  negro  blood,  formerly  slaves, 
who  had  been  doomed,  by  Spanish  avarice  and  mer- 
cantile cupidity,  to  cultivate  the  soil,  or  to  v^ork  the 
gold  and  silver  mines  of  the  country.  And  if  the  time 
does  not  soon  come  when  the  emancipated  slaves  of 
the  West  Indies  will  create  a  civi]  insurrection,  and 
take  forcible  possession  of  the  government,  it  will  be 
merely  because  military  despotism  is  stronger  to  enforce 
obedience,  than  the  love  of  freedom  is  to  burst  the 
shackles  which  fetter  them  ;  for  as  to  their  freedom,  it 
is  but  imperfectly  enjoyed ;  they  still  feel  themselves 
degraded  from  the  dignity  of  rational  beings,  by  the 
very  manner  in  which  they  are  governed,  and  their 
services,  in  some  sort,  extorted  from  them. 

It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  things,  that  the  few  should 
continue  forever  to  enslave  and  oppress  the  many.  In 
addition  to  its  being  contrary  to  the  laws  of  God,  which 
say,  "  Ye  shall  not  oppress  the  hireling  in  his  wages," 
there  are  reasons  to  be  assig-ned,  arisinor  out  of  the 
natural  course  of  things,  why  this  relation  should  not 
continue  to  exist  forever.  The  masters  and  the  land- 
holders are  brought  up  in  luxurious  indolence  ;  they 
contract  a  spirit  of  effeminacy,  and,  of  course,  are  un- 
accustomed to  labour  and  hardships,  w^hile  their  slaves 
are  inured  to  hard  toil,  to  poverty,  and  privations,  and 
therefore  can  endure  the  sufferings  and  perils  of  servile 
war  far  better  than  their  masters,  whose  mode  of  life 
has  unfitted  them  for  the  fatigues  of  a  campaign,  or 
the  privations  incident  to  the  vicissitudes  of  an  uncer- 
tain state  of  existence.     These  vicissitudes  will  natu- 

blacks,  and  1,000,000  only  are  whites  ;  that  is,  only  one-seventh  part  of  the  popu- 
lation are  whites  1  And  perhaps  about  the  same  proportion  prevails  throughout 
the  South  American  States  ;  and  the  successive  revolutions  show  the  unsettled 
habits  of  the  people  generally,  as  well  as  the  unfitness  of  the  ignorant  population 
to  govern  themselves. 


38 

rally  and  necessarily  arise  out  of  this  unequal  state  of 
human  society.  The  slaves  may  groan  on  for  a  sea- 
son, until  at  length  they  will  perceive  their  strength, 
will  consider  their  burdens  no  longer  bearable,  and 
will  therefore  resolve  to  throw  them  off  at  any  sacri- 
fice, even  to  the  shedding  of  their  own,  and  the  blood 
of  their  masters  ;  for  they  will  consider  it  better  to  die, 
than  to  live  on  in  such  a  state  of  vassalage,  while  the 
faint  hope  of  bettering  their  condition  will  impel  them 
on  to  deeds  of  blood  and  slaughter,  in  the  expectation 
of  regaining  their  lost  liberties. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  a  prophet  of  evil  to  the  southern 
slave-holders, — to  sound  an  unnecessary  alarm  in  their 
ears, — much  less  to  speak  so  as  to  be  heard  by  their 
slaves,  to  excite  them  to  a  civil  insurrection.  God  for- 
bid !  My  object  is  to  avert  the  apprehended  evil,  by 
persuading,  if  possible,  the  slave-holders  to  adopt  those 
measures  for  emancipation,  which  will  accomplish  the 
object  in  a  peaceful,  and,  therefore,  in  a  safe  way.  Yet 
we  cannot  be  blind  to  the  history  of  events.  We  can- 
not but  be  admonished  by  the  lessons  derived  from  the 
history  of  the  past,  and  from  an  impartial  survey  of  the 
principles  of  human  nature.  And  the  same  causes, 
operating  under  the  same  circumstances,  will  always 
produce  the  same  effects.  The  truth  of  this  maxim 
has  been  tested  by  a  thousand  experiments,  both  in  the 
physical  and  moral  world,  and  its  truth  holds  good, 
let  the  application  be  made  to  whatever  subject  it 
may. 

And  do  not  our  southern  slave-holders  feel  its  truth  ? 
Do  they  not  often  tremble  for  their  own  safety  ?  Do 
not  the  many  local  insurrections  which  have  arisen 
among  their  slaves,  attended,  as  they  sometimes  have 
been,  with  the  most  cruel  massacres,  admonish  them 


39 

that  there  is  a  spirit  at  work  that  will  sooner  or  later 
vent  itself,  unless  timely  prevented  by  more  just  and 
mild  measures,  with  irresistible  fury,  and  bear  away 
everything  before  it?  Hence,  do  they  not  feel  as  if 
they  were  living  upon  a  volcano,  which  they  fear  will 
one  day  explode  with  destructive  fury,  and  pour  forth 
such  streams  of  burning  lava,  as  to  consume  every 
green  thing  ?  However  much  we  may  affect  to  despise 
these  things  as  the  idle  dreams  of  a  heated  imagination^ 
I  verily  believe  that  these  fears  very  often  disturb  their 
midnight  slumbers,  and  occupy  many  of  their  most 
sober  waking  thoughts.     May  they  never  be  realized ! 

That  they  may  not,  let  us  set  about  the  work  of 
emancipation,  and  in  such  a  way  as  shall  secure  the 
rights  of  all  concerned,  the  master  and  the  slave  ;  and 
while  the  latter  is  set  free,  he  may  be  attached  both  to 
the  soil  and  to  his  former  master. 

Those  who  doubt  the  possibility  of  this,  have  not 
accurately  studied  human  nature,  nor  duly  estimated 
the  stronger  ties  by  which  gratitude  binds  human  beings 
together,  than  do  oppression  and  tyranny. 

We  may  fear  the  tyrant,  and  hate  the  oppressor ; 
but  we  cannot  love  the  one,  nor  admire  the  other.  A 
reluctant  service  may  be  extorted  from  those  who  are 
under  the  dominion  of  the  tyrant,  while  he  who  unwil- 
lingly yields  his  services,  will  inwardly  curse  the  hand 
that  extorts  it,  and  use  all  possible  means  to  free  him- 
self from  the  restraints  of  his  oppressor.  This  is  human 
nature.  But  convince  a  man,  by  acts  of  justice  and 
kindness,  that  you  seek  his  welfare,  and  thus  bind  him 
to  your  interest  by  friendship,  and  if  he  have  a  spark 
of  humanity,  he  will  love  you  in  return  ;  he  will  defend 
you  against  all  your  foes,  whether  secret  or  open,  and 
he  will  serve  you  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability.     This  is. 


40 

also  human  nature,  and  a  thousand  examples  might  be 
quoted  to  prove  its  truth. 

Let,  then,  the  slaves  be  set  at  liberty  in  such  a  way, 
as  to  convince  them  that  you  seek  their  vi^elfare ;  v^^hile 
you  secure  your  own  safety,  make  it  their  interest  to 
serve  you,  by  allowing  them  an  equitable  compensation 
for  their  labour,  and  let  them  know  that  their  earnings 
are  their  own,  and  you  will  secure  their  gratitude  and 
friendship,  and  they  will,  moreover,  be  convinced  that 
while  they  are  serving  you,  they  are  benefiting  them- 
selves ;  and  while  they  are  vindicating  your  rights, 
they  will  at  the  same  time  defend  their  own.  I  cannot 
doubt  that  this  will  effectually  secure  the  peace  and 
the  safety  of  the  country,  and  thereby  prevent  such  a 
horrible  catastrophe,  as  would  inevitably  follow  an 
insurrectionary  war.  For  let  the  struggle  terminate 
whichever  way  it  might,  whether  in  the  extermination 
of  the  blacks,  or  the  subjugation  of  the  whites, — and 
the  probability  is,  that  one  or  the  other  of  these  events 
will  happen, — the  consequences  would  be  alike  dis- 
astrous. These  dreadful  alternatives  are  not  to  be 
thought  upon  but  with  dismay  and  horror! 

Now  I  cannot  but  think  that  any  plan  which  would 
be  likely  to  avert  evils  of  such  a  dismal  character, 
and  to  secure  blessings  so  invaluable,  should  be  hailed 
with  delight  and  avidity  by  every  lover  of  his  spec  es. 
Nor  can  I  believe  that  any  danger  to  either  master  or 
slave  would  attend  the  general  plan  of  emancipation 
I  have  proposed,  but  that  lasting  blessings  would 
accrue  to  both.  Why  not,  then,  make  the  trial  ?  Let 
the  experiment  be  made  in  one  State  first,  say  in 
Maryland  or  Virginia,  and  see  how  it  will  work  ;  and 
if  it  should  succeed,  pass  on  to  another,  and  so  onward, 
till  all  shall  proclaim  freedom  to  their  slaves.     Indeed, 


41 

we  have  already  had  the  experiment  tried  in  the  State 
of  New- York,  and  in  other  States  of  the  Union  ;  and 
though  the  slaves  were  by  no  means  as  numerous  here 
as  they  are  in  the  present  slave  States,  and  therefore 
cannot  form  just  data  for  us  to  draw  our  conclusions 
from,  yet  the  experiment  has  been  productive  of  such 
happy  results,  as  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  it 
might  be  made  with  equal  safety  and  the  like  results, 
even  in  those  States  where  the  slaves  are  much  more 
numerous  ;  for  their  labours  there  would  become  more 
necessary  than  they  have  been  here,  and,  therefore, 
they  would  be  more  likely  to  be  happy  and  contented 
in  their  condition,  while  under  the  protection  of  equal 
laws,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  equal  privileges. 

I  have  still  other  motives  to  present,  for  they  accu- 
mulate as  I  proceed,  and  seem  to  acquire  a  tenfold 
force  the  more  I  consider  them. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MOTIVES      TO     EMANCIPATION COMPARISON     BETWEEN 

FREE  AND  SLAVE  LABOUR. 

Were  it  a  matter  of  mere  calculation  of  dollars  and 
cents,  emancipation  would  be  desirable.  It  must,  in- 
deed, be  manifest  to  every  attentive  observer,  that 
slave-labour  is  the  most  expensive  and  the  least  pro- 
ductive of  all  other.  We  need  go  no  farther,  to  be 
convinced  of  this,  than  to  make  a  comparison  between 
the  slave  and  the  free  States  of  our  own  country. 

Let  us  take  for  a  comparison,  two  of  the  oldest  and 
largest  States   in   the   Union,   namely,   Virginia   and 
New- York.     The  former  has  an  area  of  64,000  square 
6 


42- 

miles;  the  latter,  46,000.  Virginia  has  a  population 
of  1,255,000  souls;  New-York  has  a  population  of 
2,750,000.  So  that,  with  a  less  territory,  New-York 
more  than  doubles  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  Vir- 
ginia. How^  is  this  great  diiference  to  be  accounted 
for,  but  upon  the  vast  difference  between  slave-labour 
and  free  ? 

Let  us  also  look  at  the  value  of  exports  of  these  two 
States.  New-York  exported,  in  the  year  1844,  to  the 
value  of  $32,861,540 ;  Virginia,  in  the  same  year,  ex- 
ported $2,942,272.  It  may  be  said  that  this  great  dif- 
ference in  the  value  of  exports,  arises  chiefly  from  the 
facilities  w^hich  New-York  possesses  over  Virginia  for 
trade.  But  I  would  ask  whether  these  facilities  are 
natural,  or  whether  they  do  not  arise  more  from  those 
created  by  the  enterprise  of  her  citizens,  and  the  spring 
given  to  industry  by  the  freedom  of  her  population,  by 
which  every  man  is  prompted  to  labour  for  himself,  and 
to  reap  the  reward  of  his  energy  and  enterprise  ?  Her 
arts,  her  agriculture,  her  shipping,  and  her  numerous 
cities  and  villages,  are  the  results  of  the  industry  and 
economy  of  her  citizens,  favoured,  indeed,  by  her  central 
position,  by  the  fertility  of  her  soil,  and  the  salubrity 
of  her  climate. 

Surely,  Virginia  is  as  favourably  situated  on  the 
ocean,  has  convenient  and  safe  harbours,  is  cut  with 
as  noble  rivers,  and  indented  with  as  spacious  bays, 
and  has  as  productive  a  soil,  naturally,  as  New- York. 
Yet  while  the  latter  is  flourishing  in  all  the  freshness 
and  vigour  of  youth,  the  former  exhibits  the  decrepi- 
tude of  old  age ;  much  of  her  land  is  thrown  out  to 
waste,  merely  because  it  is  so  impoverished  that  it  will 
produce  nothing.  Whatever  natural  advantages  New- 
York  may  possess,  the  vast  difference  in  population, 


43 

^nd  the  value  of  her  exports,  between  her  and  Vir- 
ginia, cannot  be  satisfactorily  accounted  for,  only  on 
the  different  results  of  slave  and  free  labour. 

To  see  this  still  more  clarly,  let  us  take  two  States 
in  which  the  natural  advantages  are  evidently  in  fa- 
vour of  the  slave  State  ;  I  mean  Ohio  and  South  Caro- 
lina. The  latter  contains  30,080  square  miles,  and  the 
former  39,000  ;  while  the  population  of  Ohio,  in  1844, 
was  1,850,000,  and  that  of  South  Carohna,  605,000; 
considerably  less  than  one-half  Ohio  is  an  interior 
State, — has  no  other  access  to  the  ocean  than  through 
her  lakes,  rivers,  and  canals, — while  South  Carolina  lies 
on  the  Atlantic,  and  possesses  every  natural  facility  for 
trade  with  foreign  countries,  as  well  as  with  her  sister 
States.  In  the  value  of  exports.  South  Carolina  does 
indeed  exceed  Ohio ;  the  former  being,  in  1844, 
$7,433,282,  the  latter,  $543,856;  but  this  may  be  ac- 
counted for,  from  the  interior  situation  of  Ohio.  The 
strength  of  a  State,  however,  is  to  be  estimated  more 
from  its  population,  than  from  the  mere  value  of  its  ex- 
ports, as  hereby  is  demonstrated  its  capability  to  sustain 
human  life,  and  the  means  of  cultivating  the  soil,  as 
well  as  the  improvement  in  mechanical  arts.  In  this 
respect,  Ohio  far  outstrips  South  Carolina. 

But  compare  Kentucky  with  Ohio,  which  is  similarly 
situated  in  relation  to  the  sea-board.  The  comparison 
will  be  more  equal, — from  the  fact  that  they  are  of 
equal  extent,  each  containing  39,000  square  miles, — and 
the  contrast  will  be  still  more  striking.  Ohio  has,  as 
we  have  before  seen,  a  population  of  1,850,000,  while 
Kentucky  has  but  820,000— not  quite  half  that  of  Ohio ; 
and  while  the  latter  exports  to  the  value  of  $543,856, 
Kentucky  exports  nothing !  Here  is  a  fact  that  speaks 
volumes  in  favour  of  free  labour.     And  when  we  take 


44 

into  consideration,  that  when  South  Carohna  had,  in 
1800,  a  population  of  345,591,  Ohio  had  only  45,365, 
havino"  but  just  commenced  her  settlements, — when  the 
former  had  been  settled  for  130  years,  and  Kentucky 
had  at  the  same  time  a  population  of  220,955, — the  ar- 
crument  in  favour  of  free  labour  acquires  ten-fold  force. 

Now  these  are  all  facts,  derived  from  authentic 
sources,  and  therefore  cannot  be  gainsaid,  nor  the  con- 
clusion drawn  from  them  resisted.  While  the  slave 
States  are  deteriorating,  the  land  becoming  impoverish- 
ed under  the  tillage  of  the  slave,  its  substance  ex- 
hausted by  the  culture  of  tobacco,  &c.,  the  free  States 
are  going  forward,  thriving  under  the  hand  of  the  free 
labourer;  the  arts  are  flourishing,  manufactories  are 
multiplying,  and  everything  looks  fresh  and  green  un- 
der the  skilful  management  and  the  industrious  hand 
of  the  educated  freeman. 

See  how  the  little  State  of  Connecticut,  where  the 
people  were  early  taught  to  support  themselves  with 
the  labour  of  their  own  hands  ;  where  education,  eco- 
nomy, and  religion,  united  their  three-fold  cord  to  bind 
a  happy  community  together,  that  its  members  might 
mutually  sustain  and  comfort  each  other ;  see  how  her 
teeming  population  have  emigrated  to  almost  every  new 
State  and  territory  in  the  country,  and  thus  aided  to 
extfend  the  branches  of  the  tree  of  liberty  into  the  far 
West,  under  the  umbrageous  foliage  of  which  thousands 
are  now  reposing  with  contentment  and  happiness ! 
See,  also,  how  the  cities  and  villages  of  this  little  State 
are  thriving  with  the  labour  of  her  industrious  me- 
chanics, her  manufacturers  and  merchants ;  while  her 
lands  yield  their  wonted  increase  under  the  culture  of 
her  humble  farmers,  though  not  with  that  profusion 
which  enriches  the  fruitful  fields  of  some  other  portions 


:;     45 

of  our  country,  yet  with  such  fruits  as  are  congenial  to 
her  soil  and  climate.  The  same  remarks  will  apply, 
with  equal  truth,  to  most  of  our  northern  States.  Think 
you  that  these  things  would  be  seen,  if  the  country  had 
been  left  to  be  managed  by  slave-holders,  and  the  fields 
to  be  cultivated  by  their  slaves  ?  O  no  !  most  surely 
not! 

Allow  that  the  climate  is  not  congenial  to  the  consti- 
tution of  the  blacks,  and  that  the  produce  of  the  land 
is  not  suited  to  their  labour :  what  then  ?  The  southern 
climate  and  the  southern  productions  are.  Have  these 
States  prospered  under  this  management  like  the  free 
States  ?  We  know  that  they  have  not.  This,  indeed, 
is  the  very  thing  we  assert,  and  it  proves,  to  a  demon- 
stration, that  slave-labour  is  the  most  expensive  and 
the  least  productive  of  all  other. 

Hence,  if  our  southern  friends  were  actuated  merely 
from  motives  of  gain,  they  would  be  induced  to  ex- 
change their  slave  for  free  labour,  with  all  practicable 
despatch.  We  know,  indeed,  it  cannot  be  done  at 
once.  But  the  good  work  can  be  commenced  without 
delay ;  and  it  can  be  steadily  and  perseveringly  prose- 
cuted ;  obstacles  may  be  removed,  and  opposition  over- 
come, until  it  shall  be  consummated.  When  this  is 
done,  the  fields  of  the  South  will  again  smile  with  fruit- 
fulness,  under  the  tiller's  hand ;  the  mechanics'  shops 
will  hum  and  buzz  with  the  busy  artisan ;  the  merchant 
will  rejoice  in  the  revival  of  his  trade  ;  the  statesman 
will  realize  his  hopes,  in  beholding  the  happy  labourer 
and  the  peaceful  citizen  sitting  together  under  their 
own  vine  and  fig-tree,  in  peace  and  security,  all  alike 
protected  by  equal  and  just  laws  ;  and  the  minister  of 
religion  will  hail  with  delight  the  arrival  of  that  day, 
when  he  can  ''  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives,  and 


'    46 

the    opening  of  the  prison   doors    to   them   that  are 
bound." 

Now,  is  any  sacrifice  too  great  to  be  made  for  the 
accomplishment  of  an  object  so  grand,  so  magnificent, 
so  beneficent,  promising  such  untold  blessings  to  the 
present  and  future  generations  of  men  ?  Surely,  every 
generous  heart  will  beat  with  pulsations  of  joy  at  such 
a  prospect.  How  much  more  the  one  that  shall  live  to 
see  its  attainment ! 


CHAPTER  X. 

MOTIVES   TO  EMANCIPATION — STATE  OF  THINGS   IN   THE 
WEST   INDIES. 

I  HAVE  before  alluded  to  the  effects  of  emancipation  in 
the  West  Indies.  The  more  closely  and  impartially 
this  subject  is  considered,  the  more  shall  we  be  con- 
vinced, that  though  the  value  of  the  exports  has  consi- 
derably increased  since  1841,  it  has  been  owing  more 
to  the  introduction  of  a  foreign  population  from  the 
East  Indies,  than  it  has  to  the  increased  facihties  of  la- 
bour and  living  among  the  emancipated  slaves.  This 
has  increased  the  number  of  labourers,  while  it  has 
diminished  the  price  of  labour,  and  thus  tended  very 
much  to  injure  the  emancipated  slaves.  Whatever 
may  be  the  motive  for  this  importation  of  coolies, 
whether  it  be  to  deprive  the  native  population  of  the 
benefits  of  free  labour  for  a  fair  compensation,  or  to 
bring  discredit  upon  the  system  of  emancipation,  by 
showing  the  inadequacy  of  the  free  negroes  to  do  the 
required  work,  it  evidently  shows  that  there  has  been 
some  capital  defect  in  the  manner  by  which  emancipa- 


47 

tion  was  brought  about,  as  well  as  the  impolicy  of  the 
measures  since  pursued. 

Had  the  slave-holders  been  thoroughly  convinced 
of  the  propriety,  as  well  as  the  justice  and  humanity, 
of  setting  their  slaves  free,  instead  of  its  being  forced 
upon  them,  contrary  to  their  wishes ;  and  had  the 
slaves  been  previously  instructed  into  a  knowledge  of 
their  duty  as  free  citizens,  they  would  have  been  much 
better  prepared  to  receive,  appreciate,  and  enjoy  their 
liberty;  and  their  masters,  instead  of  endeavouring  to 
thwart  the  designs  of  the  legislators  in  providing  for 
emancipation,  would  have  co-operated  with  them,  and 
striven  to  make  it  set  as  easy  as  possible  on  all  con- 
cerned. As  it  now  is,  rigorous  laws  are  enacted  to 
enforce  obedience  from  the  manumitted  slaves  :  mams- 
trates  are  appointed  with  powers  to  inflict  summary 
punishment  upon  supposed  delinquents,  evidently  with 
a  view  to  render  emancipation  as  irksome  and  odious 
as  possible.  In  addition  to  this,  an  expensive  system 
of  importing  numerous  coolies  from  the  East  Indies, 
for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  land-holders  with  la- 
bourers, has  so  diminished  the  price  of  labour  as  to 
reduce  the  liberated  slaves  to  almost  the  same  state  of 
dependence  as  that  in  which  they  were  while  held  in 
slavery.  It  is  stated  in  the  last  Anti-slavery  Reporter, 
that  the  number  of  coolies  imported  into  the  West  In- 
dies from  the  year  1834  to  1844,  was  71,482,  most 
of  whom  were  males,  and  of  an  age  suitable  for  hard 
labour. 

This  shows  the  reason  why  the  amount  of  exports 
has  of  late  very  considerably  increased.  From  the 
same  source  of  information,  it  appears  that  in  1841 
there  were  exported  121,295  hogsheads  of  sugar ;  in 
1845,  157,200  hogsheads,  making  an  increase  in  five 


48 

years  of  35,905  hogsheads.  This  is  prima  facie  evi- 
dence of  a  more  prosperous  state  of  things,  and  the 
more  so  from  the  fact,  that  the  hberated  slaves  them- 
selves create  a  greater  demand  for  home  consump- 
tion, by  using  a  much  greater  proportion  than  they  did 
while  in  a  state  of  slavery.  It  shows  also  what  may 
be  effected  by  a  just,  hberal,  and  impartial  mode  of 
emancipation,  by  which  both  land-holder  and  labourer 
shall  have  their  respective  rights  secured,  and  all  move 
on  under  the  influence  of  those  motives  which  are 
prompted  by  a  regard  to  one's  own  happiness,  in  the 
enjoyment  of  temporal,  intellectual,  and  spiritual 
blessings. 

These  remarks  apply  more  particularly  to  the  state 
of  things  in  the  island  of  Jamaica,  where  it  appears 
that  the  planters  were  more  generally  opposed  to 
emancipation.  In  consequence  of  this,  they  have  en- 
deavoured to  defeat  its  object,  by  treating  the  negroes 
with  greater  severity,  charging  them  high  prices  for 
rent,  paying  them  little  for  their  work,  exacting  from 
them  an  undue  proportion  of  labour,  and  punishing 
them  with  unjust  severity  for  any  supposed  delinquen- 
cies. 

According  to  the  statements  of  Mr.  Gurney,  who 
travelled  through  the  West  India  islands  in  the  winter 
of  1839  and  '40,  and  whose  observations  appear  to  be 
the  result  of  a  careful  inspection  of  the  state  of  things, 
and  whose  candour  is  apparent  in  all  he  has  said,  in 
Dominica,  Tortola,  St.  Christopher's,  and  Anitgua, 
where  the  land-holders  have  rented  the  houses  and 
lands  to  the  liberated  slaves  at  a  fair  valuation,  and 
have  in  some  instances  assigned  them  job-labour,  or 
otherwise  paid  them  just  wages  for  their  work,  things 
have  gone  on  much  more  prosperously,  all  parties  feel- 


49 

ing  the  genial  effects  of  emancipation,  and  being  mutu- 
ally contented  and  happy  in  their  condition. 

In  all  cases  where  the  land-holders  adopt  those 
rigorous  measures  which  seem  to  compel  the  services 
of  the  labourers,  they  do  not  succeed  so  well,  as  the 
latter  manifest  an  lanwillingness  to  perform  service 
without  a  fair  compensation.  On  the  other  hand, 
where  they  are  exalted  to  the  dignity  of  free  human 
beings,  treated  with  justice  and  lenity,  and  are  drawn 
forward  by  those  motives  arising  from  a  hope  of  a  re- 
ward for  their  diligence,  labour  is  performed  with  ap- 
parent cheerfulness,  the  fields  smile  under  their  culture, 
they  appear  decently  clad,  their  houses  are  conve- 
niently furnished,  their  tables  spread  with  plenty,  and 
they  appear  to  be  contented,  cheerful,  and  happy — 
more  especially  those  of  them  who  are  religious,  as 
many  of  them  truly  are. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  under  all  the  disadvan- 
tages of  their  situation,  their  freedom  has  been  made  a 
blessing  to  themselves  and  their  former  masters.  How 
much  more  eligible  their  situation  would  have  been 
had  they  been  suitably  prepared  for  their  freedom,  and 
had  their  emancipation  been  effected  by  the  hearty 
consent  and  active  co-operation  of  the  owners  of  the 
soil,  who  can  tell?  We  may,  however,  form  some 
estimate  of  this,  by  a  comparison  of  those  islands 
where  the  land-holders  have  fallen  in  with  the  views 
of  the  liberators  of  the  slaves,  where  the  local  legisla- 
tures have  passed  those  laws  which  are  calculated  to 
meliorate  the  condition  of  the  liberated  slave,  and  pur- 
sued those  measures  which  secured  to  him  his  rights 
and  privileges  as  a  freeman,  with  those  where  the  op- 
posite course  has  been  pursued,  and  the  contrary  feel- 
ings predominate.  And  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  if  ever 
7 


60 

freedom  is  proclaimed  to  the  slaves  of  our  country,  it 
will  be  done  with  the  hearty  consent  of  the  slave- 
holders themselves,  and  that  the  future  relations  of  the 
parties,  and  the  duties  resulting  from  them,  will  be 
prescribed  and  regulated  by  those  just  and  merciful 
laws  which  will  protect  all  in  the  enjoyment  of  equal 
rights  and  privileges ;  and,  surely,  if  the  minds  of  our 
southern  statesmen  should  ever  become  so  imbued 
with  Christian  philanthropy  and  enlightened  patriot- 
ism as  to  induce  them  to  set  their  slaves  free,  we  may 
well  confide  to  them  the  adoption  of  those  measures 
which  will  secure  the  greatest  possible  benefit,  both 
temporal  and  spiritual,  to  all  concerned.  Even  a  re- 
gard to  their  own  interests  would  induce  them  to  do 
this.  How  much  more,  then,  when  the  happiness  of 
millions  of  their  fellow-beings  is  involved  in  the  result? 
And  let  it  be  remembered,  that  we  cannot  do  good  to 
others,  without  reaping  a  proportionate  benefit  our- 
selves. This  is  according  to  the  immutable  law  of  the 
God  of  the  universe. 


CHAPTER  XL 

MOTIVES      TO     EMANCIPATION UNPRODUCTIVENESS     OF 

SLAVE-LABOUR TENDENCY  OF  THE  DOMESTIC  SLAVE- 
TRADE. 

I  HAVE  already  alluded  to  the  impoverished  state  of 
those  lands  which  have  long  been  under  the  culture  of 
slave-labour.  Many  of  the  land-holders  have  been, 
and  are  now,  compelled  to  sell  a  portion  of  their  slaves 
every  year,  in  order  to  procure  subsistence  for  those 
they  retain. 

I  cannot  express  myself  more  appropriately  on  this 


61 

subject,  than  by  transcribing  the  words  of  Mr.  Gur- 
ney,  already  referred  to,  and  whose  letters  to  Hon. 
Henry  Clay  are  well  worthy  a  serious  perusal  by 
every  friend  of  human  freedom.     He  says  :— 

"I  confess  I  feel  much  compassion  for  the  slave- 
holder of  Virginia,  who,  seated  in  his  old  and  gentle- 
manlike mansion,  surveys  the  wide  demesnes  which 
have  descended  to  him  from  his  ancestors.  His  lands, 
long  since  exhausted  by  slave-labour,  present  to  his 
eye  a  brown  and  dreary  aspect,  except  w^here  they 
have  become  overgrown  by  a  miserable  forest  of  pine. 
His  black  people  have  multiplied  around  him,  and  he 
scarcely  knows  how  to  feed  them.  His  family  neces- 
sities are  perpetually  calling  for  money.  The  slave- 
jobber  is  prowling  about  the  neighbourhood,  with  his 
tempting  offers  of  five  hundred  dollars  for  a  lad  or  girl, 
or  one  thousand  dollars  for  an  adult  person.  The 
temptation  soon  becomes  irresistible,  and  slave  after 
slave  supplies  the  Southern  market.  By  degrees  he 
discovers  that  by  far  the  most  profitable  article  which 
his  estate  produces  is  the  slave  ;  and  instead  of  the  old- 
fashioned  cultivator  of  the  soil,  he  becomes,  by  slow  de- 
grees, and  almost  insensibly  to  himself,  a  slave-breeder. 
But  whether  this  be  or  be  not  the  true  trade  and  pro- 
fession of  the  slave-holder,  it  is  all  one  to  the  slave. 
He  is  sold  to  the  merchant,  torn  from  his  wife  and 
family,  lodged  in  some  negro  jail  at  Baltimore,  Win- 
chester, or  Washington,  and  finally  driven,  as  one  of 
a  hand-cuffed  gang,  to  Alabama  or  Louisiana, — there  to 
be  sold,  with  an  enormous  profit  for  the  jobber,  to  the 
planter  of  cotton,  coffee,  or  sugar." 

This  shows  most  conclusively  the  enormous  draw- 
back which  slave-labour  exacts  from  the  slave-holder, 
as  a  tax  upon  his  commodity.     And,  indeed,  it  is  truly 


52 

melancholy,  to  the  traveller  in  Virginia,  to  behold  the 
old  estates  of  Washington,  and  others  of  a  like  character, ' 
once  so  proliiic  and  flourishing,  now  thrown  out  to 
waste,  merely  because  the  soil  is  so  exhausted  that  it 
will  not  repay  the  tiller  for  his  toil,  nor  even  yield  a 
sufficient  increase  to  support  the  slaves  by  v^hom  it  is 
cultivated.  And  if  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Missouri, 
and  other  new  States  do  not  exhibit  a  similar  sterility, 
it  is  merely  because  their  virgin  soil  has  not  been  cul- 
tivated a  sufficient  length  of  time  to  exhaust  its  ferti- 
lity. Let  things  go  on  here  in  the  track  of  the  older 
States  for  a  length  of  time,  and  doubtless  similar 
symptoms  of  decay  and  exhaustion  will  become  ap- 
parent, and  they  in  their  turn  will  have  to  transport 
their  slaves  to  another  region.  But  where  will  they  go 
for  a  market?  To  Texas  ?  But  Texas  will  soon  be  filled 
up.  And  it  is  greatly  to  be  feared  that  if  things  are 
suffered  to  go  on  at  this  rate,  and  no  effectual  efforts 
are  made  for  a  peaceful  emancipation,  on  the  princi- 
ples of  justice  and  mercy,  the  time  will  come  when  a 
tremendous  reaction  will  take  place — the  slaves  will 
burst  their  bonds — they  will  throw  off  the  yoke  of  ser- 
vitude— assert  their  freedom — in  all  likelihood,  at  the 
expense  of  the  blood  of  their  masters ;  for  it  is  not  to 
be  supposed  that  the  many,  and  these  strong,  able- 
bodied  men,  will  forever  continue  under  the  rule  and 
servitude  of  a  few,  and  these  few  enervated  by  idleness 
and  luxury,  and  become  effeminate  for  want  of  physi- 
cal and  mental  action.  Nay,  have  we  not  reason  to 
apprehend,  from  the  facts  of  the  history  of  God's  pro- 
vidence, that  he  himself  will  one  day  plead  the  cause 
of  the  oppressed — that  he  will  ''  hear  their  groaning 
and  come  down  to  deliver  them  ?"  And  who  can  with- 
stand the  working  of  Omnipotence  ? 


53 

Here  then  is  a  strong  propelling  motive  which 
should  induce  every  friend  to  his  country,  every  friend 
to  his  species,  every  friend  to  humanity,  every  parent 
and  guardian,  to  awake  to  this  subject,  and  to  exert 
themselves  to  bring  about  the  result  herein  contem- 
plated. 

Does  the  friend  of  his  country  wish  its  happiness 
and  prosperity  continued  and  perpetuated?  I  know 
he  does.  Let  him,  then,  lend  his  influence  to  disen- 
thral it  from  the  bondage  of  slavery. 

Does  the  friend  of  his  species  wish  them  to  partici- 
pate with  him  in  the  same  blessings  which  he  enjoys  ? 
He  certainly  does.  Let  him  then  use  his  best  endea- 
vours to  raise  them  to  the  rank  of  free  human  beings, 
and  no  longer  consider  and  treat  them  as  mere  beasts 
of  burden,  or  as  an  article  of  merchandise,  to  be  reared, 
bought  and  sold,  at  the  pleasure  of  those  who  choose 
to  sell  and  buy  them.  If  he  cannot  arrest  the  horrid 
African  slave-trade,  he  can  certainly  use  his  influence 
to  prevent  the  continuance  of  a  similar  traflic  in  his 
own  country. 

Does  the  friend  of  humanity  desire  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  his  fellow-men  from  the  most  cruel  and  de- 
grading bondage,  that  they  may  enjoy  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  freemen  ?  Most  assuredly  he  does.  Let 
him  not  then  contribute  any  longer  to  entail  upon  them 
that  deprivation  of  the  attributes  of  an  accountable  be- 
ing ;  namely,  freedom  of  thought  and  action. 

Does  the  parent  wish  the  blessings  to  descend  to  his 
posterity  which  he  himself  enjoys  ?  Who  will  answer 
in  the  negative?  Not  one.  Then  let  him  hasten 
to  snatch  his  children  from  that  awful  precipice  on 
which  he  and  they  stand,  while  contributing  to  bind 
the  fetters  of  slavery  on  thousands  of  his  fellow-beings. 


54 

Let  him  make  all  possible  haste  to  avert  the  just  judg- 
ments of  Almighty  God  from  himself  and  his  offspring, 
which  so  ominously  threaten  to  burst  upon  him  or 
them  with  woful  vengeance.  Though  he  himself  naay 
escape,  and  be  ''  saved  so  as  by  fire,"  yet  the  judg- 
ment of  God  "  slumbereth  not,"  but  will  sooner  or  later 
awake  in  terrible  wrath,  and  spend  its  fury  upon  his 
posterity,  for  he  ''  visiteth  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers 
upon  the  children,  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation 
of  them  that  hate  him."  I  cannot  but  tremble  for  my 
country,  when  I  review  its  history,  in  connexion  with 
the  horrid  traffic  in  African  slaves,  by  which  it  has  be- 
come enthralled  in  the  meshes  of  slavery. 

Indeed,  the  withering  curse  of  God  seems  to  rest 
upon  those  portions  of  it  which  are  yet  doomed  to  bear 
its  burdens.  Instead  of  its  producing  its  wonted  in- 
crease, "  blasting  and  mildew"  are  visible  upon  its  face. 
I  say,  therefore,  that  a  regard  to  his  own  temporal  in- 
terests should  induce  the  slave-holder  to  use  all  prudent 
means  to  set  his  slaves  free.  When  this  is  done,  he 
may  look  up  to  God  for  his  blessing  upon  the  labour 
of  his  hands.  He  may  pray  in  faith  for  the  temporal 
and  spiritual  prosperity  of  his  freedmen,  as  w^ell  as 
for  himself  and  his  offspring,  and  may  possibly  live  to 
rejoice  over  the  returning  prosperity  of  his  country. 
Indeed,  I  give  those  of  them  credit  who  already  see 
and  deplore  the  evils  of  their  country ;  and  who  strive 
to  meliorate  the  condition  of  their  slaves  all  they  possi- 
bly can,  by  using  them  kindly,  leading  them  to  the 
knowledge  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ,  providing  for 
their  necessities,  nursing  them  in  sickness,  and  commi- 
serating the  infirmities  of  age  and  decrepitude.  Let 
them  now  add  to  these  acts  of  justice  and  mercy  the 
further  endeavours  to  remove  those  obstacles  out  of  the 


65 

way  which  prevent  emancipation,  and  thus  contribute 
to  restore  these  hapless  beings  to  the  rank  and  privi- 
leges of  free  citizens  of  this  republic.  In  so  doing  they 
will  call  down  the  blessing  of  God  upon  themselves  and 
their  country,  meet  the  approvals  of  a  good  conscience, 
and  secure  the  co-operation  and  approbation  of  every 
friend  to  humanity. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MOTIVES  TO  EMANCIPATION INCOMPATIBILITY   OF   SLA- 
VERY WITH   OUR  CIVIL   INSTITUTIONS. 

The  motives  to  this  good  work  accumulate  as  we 
proceed.  Indeed,  the  more  I  reflect  upon  this  subject, 
which  must  be  deeply  interesting  to  every  lover  of 
freedom,  the  more  weighty  do  those  considerations  ap- 
pear which  should  impress  the  mind  with  the  impera- 
tive duty  of  using  our  utmost  exertions  to  effect  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves. 

I  am  an  American.  I  was  born  and  educated  here  ; 
and  though  converted  to  God,  and  called  to  the  Chris- 
tian ministry,  in  Upper  Canada,  have  spent  most  of  my 
days  in  the  United  States  of  America — the  land  of  free- 
dom, of  equal  rights  and  privileges.  Here,  more  than 
in  any  other  portion  of  God's  earth,  with  the  sad  ex- 
ception of  those  hapless  beings  who  are  doomed  to 
slavery,  is  the  largest  measure  of  freedom.  Here,  with 
the  above  melancholy  exception,  every  man  is  pro- 
tected in  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  free  citizen ; 
and  enjoys  the  liberty  of  thought  and  action  in  every 
respect,  so  long  as  he  does  not  disWb  the  peace  of  so- 
ciety, by  indulging  in  any  acts  of  civil  or  political  hcen- 
tiousness.    This  country  I  love.    I  love  its  institutions,. 


56 

civil  and  religious ;  and  cannot  but  wish  it  prosperity, 
the  continuance  of  its  liberties,  and  of  its  unrivalled 
advantages. 

In  looking  at  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  in 
which  our  ancestors  so  nobly  asserted  their  right  to 
self-government,  I  find  the  following  words  at  the  com- 
mencement of  that  immortal  instrument : — 

"  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all 
men  are  created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  with 
certain  inalienable  rights ;  that  among  these  are  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That  to  secure 
these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men, 
deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed ;  that  whenever  any  form  of  government  be- 
comes destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the 
people  to  alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  a  new 
government,  laying  its  foundation  on  such  principles, 
and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them 
shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  hap- 
piness." 

No  one,  I  presume  to  say,  and  surely  no  enlightened 
American,  will  question  the  truth  of  the  above  declara- 
tion. It  is,  however,  to  be  understood  as  a  general 
rule  which  admits  of  exceptions.  Its  exceptions  are 
those  who  have  forfeited  their  freedom  by  improper  or 
wicked  conduct,  such  as  traitors,  thieves,  robbers,  mur- 
derers, &c.,  who  have  thrown  themselves  beyond  the 
protection  of  law,  by  rebelling  against  the  order  of 
society.  Formerly,  by  the  code  of  war,  those  who  were 
taken  captive  were  considered  by  their  captors  as  law- 
ful prizes,  and  might  therefore  be  kept  and  used  as 
their  slaves  ;  and  hence  the  introduction  and  perpetu- 
ation of  slavery  among  all  the  nations  of  antiquity. 

Now,  if  any  man  can  prove  that  the  Africans  have 


5t 

fallen  under  the  malediction  of  God,  so  as  to  have  for- 
ever forfeited  the  rights  of  freemen,  he  may  present  a 
justification  of  their  enslavement,  and  furnish  a  Reason 
foi*  their  penal  sufferings.  And  though  the  tribes  of 
Africa  are  doubtless  wicked,  ignorant  idolaters,  given 
up  to  all  manner  of  folly,  yet,  upon  comparing  them 
with  many  of  the  natives  of  Asia  and  Europe,  they  do 
not  appeaf  to  be  more  inhuman,  or  more  deeply  in- 
volved in  idolatry,  or  more  immersed  in  the  pleasures 
of  sin,  than  those  other  nations  are  or  have  been.  In- 
deed, when  the  inhabitants  along  the  Grain  and  Ivory, 
Gold  and  Slave  Coasts,  were  first  visited  by  Europeans, 
they  were  found  to  be  remarkably  sincere  and  in- 
offensive, observirig  the  principles  of  justice  in  their 
intercourse  one  with  the  other,  and  of  humanity  toward 
strangers,  being  of  a  mild  temper  and  affable  carriage. 
It  was  not,  therefore,  until  they  were  corrupted  by 
the  example  of  civihzed  Europeans,  that  they  exhibited 
those  ferocious  passions  by  which  they  are  now  so 
generally  distinguished.  The  only  assignable  reason, 
therefore,  for  their  enslavement,  is  because  of  their 
divided  state  among  themselves,  by  which  they  have 
been  led  to  make  war  upon  each  other  ;  and  this  horrid 
passion  of  war  has  been  excited  to  action  with  tenfold 
fury  by  the  tempting  offers  made  to  them  by  monsters 
in  human  shape,  irl  hope  of  a  pecuniary  recompense 
for  the  captives  which  may  have  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  cruel  victors. 

But  this  involves  a  problem  beyond  the  power  of 
the  human  mind  to  solve.  Into  this  depth  of  the  divine 
government  we  cannot  petietrate,  much  less  safely  de- 
termine who  have,  and  who  have  not,  forfeited  their 
tights  as  freemen,  any  further  than  it  is  demonstrated 
by  their  conduct.     We  must,  therefore,  dismiss  this 


68 

question,  as  too  recondite  for  finite  minds  to  investigate, 
and  attend  to  those  subjects  with  which  we  can  more 
easily  grapple. 

The  principal  object  in  quoting  the  above  paragraph 
from  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  was  to  show 
the  utter  incompatibility  of  the  doctrine  therein  laid 
down,  and  the  system  and  practice  of  slavery  in  our 
country.  Instead  of  all  men  being  "  born  equal,"  thou- 
sands are  born  every  year,  under  the  aegis  of  our  con- 
stitution, who  are,  by  the  laws  of  the  States  in  which 
they  are  born,  disfranchised,  in  the  moment  of  their 
birth  until  the  day  of  their  death,  of  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  freemen  ;  neither  their  "  life,  liberty," 
nor  "  the  pursuit  of  happiness"  is  in  their  own  power 
— "  the  government  is  not  instituted  by  their  con- 
sent," nor  does  it  ''  secure  their  rights  " — nay,  they  are 
reared  in  such  total  ignorance,  that  they  know  but  little 
more  of  the  laws  which  govern  mankind  than  the 
beasts  of  the  field — and  all  this  exists  in  repubhcan 
America,  where  our  fathers  fought  and  bled  for  free- 
dom, and  where  we  claim  an  enfranchisement  from 
European  and  Asiatic  despotism.  In  this  instance, 
then,  the  fundamental  principles  on  which  the  fabric 
of  our  government  is  founded,  are  contravened  by  those 
individual  States  which  not  only  tolerate  slavery,  but 
prevent  emancipation,  by  those  stringent  regulations 
which  bind  the  slave  to  his  master,  put  him  completely 
in  his  power  to  dispose  of  as  he  may  please,  and  which 
deny  the  validity  of  his  oath  in  all  courts  of  justice 
where  his  master  is  a  party. 

This  is  a  blot  upon  our  national  escutcheon  which 
I  am  most  anxious  should  be  w^iped  off,  that  every  State 
in  the  Union  may  present  a  harmonious  conformity  to 
the  constitutional  compact  which  binds  us  together,  and 


59 

under  the  protection  of  which  every  citizen  may  enjoy 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  freeman  ;  that  the  de- 
spotic governments  of  the  old  world  may  no  longer  have 
any  just  cause  to  reproach  us  for  our  inconsistency 
between  profession  and  practice — that  while  we  pro- 
fess a  love  of  freedom,  we  continue  to  bind  the  slave 
in  perpetual  vassalage — that  w^hile  we  profess  to  hate 
tyranny,  we  exhibit  the  attributes  of  the  tyrant  in  our 
conduct  toward  the  slaves.  This  view  of  the  subject 
addresses  itself  to  us  as  American  patriots.  While  it 
protests  against  all  those  acts  of  violence  which  brought 
the  African  to  our  shores,  in  spite  of  his  own  and  the 
remonstrances  of  the  colonists,  it  pleads,  with  all  the 
force  and  eloquence  of  political  consistency,  for  an 
abrogation  of  those  State  laws  which  make  the  con- 
dition of  the  slave  so  irksome  and  hopeless  ; — that  our 
constitutional  compact  may  appear  consistent  through- 
out every  part  of  our  confederated  republic,  and  that 
every  citizen,  whether  black  or  white,  may  have  it  in 
his  power  to  say, — I  am  free  !  /  am  a  free-horn  citizen 
of  the  United  States  of  America  ! 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

MOTIVES   TO   EMANCIPATION. THE   DUTY    DEVOLVES  ON 

STATESMEN. 

It  is  manifest,  if  ever  emancipation  is  effected  in  our 
country,  it  must  be  effected  by  the  simultaneous  action 
of  its  citizens  and  statesmen.  And  it  would  seem  to 
me  that  motives  sufficiently  numerous  and  strong  have 
been  presented,  to  call  forth  the  exertions  of  every 
Christian  philanthropist,  of  every  well-wisher  to  his 


60 

country's  welfare,  and  more  especially  of  every  pa- 
triotic statesman,  in  order  to  bring  about  this  work  of 
justice  and  benevolence. 

Let  us  but  glance  at  the  good  which  must  inevitably 
result  from  this  work  of  emancipation.  Consider  the 
influence  it  would  have  upon  our  character  as  indi- 
viduals, and  as  a  nation.  It  would  convince  all  the 
world  that  we  are  sincere  in  our  professed  love  of 
freedom — that  we  value  it  above  silver  and  gold,  inas- 
much as  we  are  willing  to  sacrifice  a  portion  of  our 
individual  property,  in  order  to  secure  the  blessings 
of  freedom  to  those  who  are  now  deprived  of  them. 
It  would  evince  to  all  the  world,  that  Christian  prin- 
ciple has  a  firmer  hold  upon  our  conscience  than  the 
love  of  w^orldly  gain,  inasmuch  as  it  leads  us  to  forego 
the  latter  for  the  sake  of  carrying  the  former  into  full 
effect,  by  obtaining  the  greater  good  for  our  fellow- 
men, — that  we  are  actuated  by  the  golden  rule,  ''Do 
as  you  would  be  done  by."  Thus  our  character,  as 
individuals,  would  be  rescued  from  that  reproach  which 
now  attaches  to  it,  by  our  approval  of  the  practices  of 
slavery. 

And  then  our  national  character  would  be  relieved 
from  that  inconsistency,  which  now  stands  out  so  pro- 
minently between  the  doctrines  set  forth  in  our  De- 
claration of  Independence,  all  our  national  celebrations 
to  commemorate  our  emancipation  from  colonial  thral- 
dom, our  patriotic  speeches,  in  which  we  boast  of  our 
freedom,  and  our  system  and  practice  of  slavery — a 
slavery  which  keeps  upwards  of  4,000,000  of  our  fel- 
low-beings in  the  most  degrading  bondage.  One 
would  suppose  that  this  consideration  should  commend 
the  subject  with  irresistible  force  to  every  patriotic 
statesman  in  the  land,  whether  he  live  North  or  South, 


61 

East  or  West.  Methinks  that  all  such^  whenever  they 
stand  up  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  whether  of  the 
State  or  of  the  nation,  must  feel  those  compunctions 
which  arise  from  a  consciousness  of  the  glaring  incon- 
sistency between  profession  and  practice ;  that  the 
words  liberty,  equality,  free  citizens  of  these  United 
States,  would  freeze  upon  their  lips,  whenever  they 
think  that  millions  who  have  been  born  in  this  land  of 
equal  rights,  never  yet  breathed  the  atmosphere  of 
freedom,  but  have  been,  and  are,  doomed  to  all  the 
horrors  of  slavery.  How  can  such  statesmen  lie  quietly 
upon  their  beds,  con  over  the  blessings  of  their  country, 
and  then  sleep  and  dream  over  its  destinies,  without 
being  disturbed  with  the  visions  coming  up  from  that 
land  of  dreariness  and  darkness,  where  the  enslaved 
African  dwells  ?  Is  the  thought  too  woful  to  ruminate 
upon  ?  Do  they  start  back  from  it  as  from  a  spectral 
vision?  Can  these  statesmen  think  seriously  upon  this 
inconsistency,  and  not  blush  with  shame  at  the  wrong 
they  are  inflicting  upon  the  hapless  sons  and  daughters 
of  Africa  ?  Can  they  cast  their  eyes  along  through  the 
vista  of  time,  without  anticipating  the  miseries  that 
must  come  upon  their  country,  and,  of  course,  must 
alight  upon  their  posterity, — without  shuddering  at  the 
clouds  of  blackness  and  darkness  which  they  must  see 
rising  up  in  the  political  horizon,  and  whose  threaten- 
ing aspect  denotes  the  approach  of  those  storms  of 
divine  indignation,  which  will  one  day  burst  upon  their 
devoted  country  ?  Can  they  do  this,  and  put  forth  no 
effort  to  free  their  land  from  the  evils  of  slavery  ?  Alas 
for  them,  if  they  can  1  They  must,  indeed,  be  insen- 
sible to  the  true  state  of  things.  They  must  have 
learned  but  little  from  the  lessons  of  history.  Let  them 
read  its  pages,  and  there  see  the  rise  and  fall  of  em~ 


62 

pires — the  fall  of  many  of  which  has  been  precipitated 
by  incorporating  slavery  into  their  civil  and  political 
regulations. 

But  why  go  back  l  Look  at  Spain,  which  took  the 
lead  in  negro  slavery,  and  in  enslaving  the  natives  in 
America.  Is  not  that  once  powerful  and  flourishing 
kingdom  now  among  the  weakest  and  most  despicable 
of  European  nations  ?  Look  at  Portugal,  which  long 
has  been,  and  is  now,  the  chief  mart  of  African  slavery, 
shut  up  in  its  narrow  limits,  torn  to  pieces  by  its  inter- 
nal convulsions,  stripped  of  all  its  colonial  possessions, 
and  thus  going  fast  back  to  poverty  and  disgrace. 
Look  at  Brazil,  the  daughter  of  Portugal,  though  na- 
turally among  the  most  fertile  of  American  provinces, 
abounding  in  gold  and  silver  mines,  and  every  way 
calculated,  from  its  natural  resources,  its  climate  and 
position,  to  become  one  of  the  richest  and  most  power- 
ful kingdoms,  now  declining  in  every  respect ;  a  great 
portion  of  its  soil  remains  uncultivated;  the  masters 
of  the  land  becoming  enervated — here  slavery  has  ex- 
isted from  its  first  settlement  by  Europeans,  and  is  still 
kept  up  with  all  the  horrors  of  the  African  slave-trade 
— her  landholders  contriving  every  method  which 
cunning  intrigue  and  mercantile  cupidity  can  invent, 
to  elude  the  vigilance  of  British  and  American  ships 
of  war,  which  are  employed  to  detect  and  seize  the 
vessels  which  are  employed  to  carry  on  the  abominable 
traffic. 

Do  these  facts  afford  no  lessons  of  instruction  for 
American  statesmen, — no  admonition  to  the  lovers  and 
abettors  of  slavery, — no  warning  to  the  considerate 
statesman,  who  looks  forward  and  calculates  what  may 
^be  from  what  has  been,  and  from  what  he  may  see 
daily  enacted  before  his  eyes  ? 


63 

O  ye  statesmen  of  America !  Turn  not  a  deaf  ear 
to  these  warnings — to  these  admonitions — to  these 
instructive  lessons,  which  appear  upon  the  page  of 
history  ! 

Though  these  expostulations  come  from  an  humble, 
obscure  individual,  who  has  no  other  claim  upon  your 
attention  than  what  the  sincerity  of  his  heart  demands, 
or  than  a  love  of  country,  kindled,  as  he  humbly  trusts 
it  is,  by  the  love  of  God  and  man ;  yet  he  beseeches 
you  to  listen  to  his  words,  with  calmness  and  delibera- 
tion. Weigh  them  with  that  solemn  attention  which 
the  importance  of  the  subject  demands,  without  any 
regard  to  the  character  of  the  individual  who  addresses 
you. 

We  all  have  an  equal  interest  at  stake.  I  humbly 
trust  that  we  are  all  Americans  at  heart — that  we  love 
our  country,  and  cannot  but  wish  well  to  its  institutions, 
civil  and  religious.  I  will  not  reproach  any  man  with 
a  want  of  this  love — with  being  deficient  in  true  pa- 
triotism ;  and,  therefore,  all  feel  for  its  character,  desire 
its  prosperity,  are  ready  to  labour  for  a  continuance 
of  those  institutions  under  which  we  have  lived  and  do 
live,  and  under  the  influence  of  which  we  have  grown 
to  a  comparatively  great  nation.  Let  us,  then,  show 
our  love  to  this  country,  by  using  our  best  endeavours 
to  free  it  from  the  evils  of  slavery. 

Why  should  we  not  ?  We  welcome  to  our  shores, 
Irish,  Germans,  Dutch,  Swedes,  Italians,  and  any  and 
every  other  nation  of  Europe  or  Asia,  and  in  due  time 
admit  them  to  all  the  privileges  of  free  citizens  ;  the 
right  of  suffrage,  and  all  other  rights  of  our  country, 
are  guaranteed  unto  them.  I  do  not  complain  of  this. 
It  may  be  the  truest  policy,  for  aught  I  know.  But 
why  should  these  privileges  be  granted  to  foreigners,. 


64 

who  migrate  here  merely  to  beilefit  themselves,  and 
the  same  be  denied  to  those  born  among  us,  reared 
upon  our  soil,  who  have  laboured,  and  are  still  labour- 
ing, for  our  exclusive  benefit?  Is  it  merely  because 
they  differ  from  us  in  colour?  Surely,  this  circum- 
stance, for  which  they  are  not  accountable,  should  not 
forever  debar  them  from  the  rights  of  freemen.  O  no ! 
This  cannot  be  the  true  reason.  It  must  be  the  pecu- 
niary benefits  which  we  promise  ourselves  will  be  de- 
rived from  slavery.  And  here  we  come  again  to  that 
same  selfish  principle  that  has  so  often  met  us  in  our 
path.  This  principle  of  human  nature,  so  universal  in 
its  existence,  so  interwoven  into  the  v^eh  of  our  very 
constitution,  so  powerful  in  its  operation,  and  so  in- 
dicative of  our  degenerate  state,  must  be  met,  must  be 
fought,  must  be  conquered,  or  otherwise  so  moulded 
and  directed,  as  to  make  it  subserve  our  true  interests, 
and  then  it  may  help  us  in  achieving  the  emancipation 
of  those  in  thraldom. 

And  I  verily  believe  that  we  mistake  the  means  of 
its  gratification,  even  in  temporal  enjoyments,  by  exact- 
ing the  labour  of  the  slaves  without  due  compensation. 
I  think  we  have  already  seen,  that  slave-labour  is  the 
least  productive  of  all  others  ;  so  that  free  labour,  equi- 
tably compensated,  is  the  most  profitable,  as  well  as 
the  most  easy  and  safe,  for  both  the  land-holder  and  his 
labourers. 

But  leaving  this  out  of  the  question,  patriotism,  a 
love  of  country,  and,  above  all,  a  love  of  consistency, 
ought  to  dictate  to  every  statesman  the  propriety  and 
the  indispensable  duty  of  using  his  influence  to  free 
the  land  of  his  birth,  the  land  of  equal  rights  and  pri-^ 
vileges,  the  land  of  American  freedom,  from  the  curse 
of  slavery. 


CHAPTER  XiV. 

MOTIVES  TO  EMANCIPATION — DUTY  OF  MINISTERS. 

In  the  preceding  chapter,  I  addressed  myself  more 
particularly  to  statesmen,  believing  that  on  them  de- 
volves, more  than  on  any  others,  the  duty  of  devising 
ways  and  means  for  meliorating  the  condition  of  the 
slave  population  of  our  country.  And  surely  every 
consideration  of  expediency,  of  duty,  of  interest,  and 
of  patriotism,  presses  with  solemn  weight  upon  the 
judgment  and  conscience  of  American  statesmen,  to 
induce  them  to  engage  in  this  good  and  great  work. 
Indeed,  the  man  that  shall  first  embark  in  this  enter- 
prise of  justice  and  mercy,  from  the  pure  spirit  of  pa- 
triotism, will  deserve,  and  doubtless  will  receive,  that 
award  of  praise  which  is  due  to  the  author  of  one  of 
the  iiK)St  philanthropic  Works  in  which  the  human 
mind  can  possibly  engage,  even  the  emancipation  of 
millions  of  his  fellow-beings. 

There  is  another  class  of  men,  however,  particularly 
fitted,  from  their  habits  of  thinking,  their  high  and  holy 
calling,  and  the  benign  religion  which  they  profess, 
and,  I  would  hope,  possess  and  teach,  to  advance  this 
godlike  work  of  emancipation  ;-^-I  mean  the  ministers 
of  religion.  They  occupy  responsible  stations,  and 
exert,  as  they  ought,  a  commanding  influence  in  com- 
munity. This  influence  they  may  use  with  powerful 
effect,  if  they  do  but  use  it  with  Christian  prudence 
and  sound  discretion,  in  favour  of  the  cause  of  free- 
dom. 

I  do  not  wish  them  to  lift  up  their  voice  in  bold, 
9 


66 

dogmatical  denunciations  against  slavery  and  the  slave- 
holder ;  nor  to  spend  their  strength  in  mere  boisterous 
declamation  on  the  evils  of  the  system,  sending  all  to 
hell,  indiscriminately,  who  either  hold  slaves,  or  apolo- 
gize for  those  that  do  ;  bestowing  offensive  epithets, 
with  unmeaning  profusion,  upon  all  who  may  dissent 
from  them  in  their  views.  It  is,  indeed,  the  easiest 
thing  in  the  world  to  generalize  on  any  exceptionable 
practice,  to  denounce  it  as  an  offence  against  God  and 
man,  and  thus  make  it  appear  odious  in  the  estimation 
of  all  good  men.  All  this,  I  say,  may  be  done  with 
but  little  effort.  But  it  requires  much  patient  thought, 
and  critical  investigation,  to  detect  the  secret  springs 
of  evil, — to  characterize  it  as  it  deserves,  in  becoming 
language,  and  with  a  wise  foresight  to  propose  and 
apply  the  remedy  for  its  removal : — and  that  minister 
of  Christ  who  is  qualified  to  unite  firmness  of  purpose 
w4th  meekness  of  wisdom ;  to  meet  and  obviate  ob- 
jections with  Christian  patience  ;  to  persevere  in  his 
labours  of  love  in  the  midst  of  opposition  ;  to  speak  the 
truth  in  love,  without  that  harshness  which  naturally 
tends  to  irritate  the  passions— so  to  speak  as  to  en- 
lighten the  judgment,  and  win  the  heart — he  who  can 
do  this,  under  the  direction  of  that  discernment  which 
will  enable  him  to  trace  the  inseparable  connexion 
between  causes  and  effects,  may  exert  a  most  hallowed 
influence  in  favour  of  this  holy  cause. 

Let  but  the  minister  of  the  Gospel,  by  his  spirit  and 
manner,  by  his  words  and  actions,  convince  the  slave- 
holder that  he  is  a  friend  to  both  him  and  the  slave, 
— that  he  seeks  their  good,  temporal  and  spiritual, — and 
the  slave-holder  will  listen  to  what  he  has  to  say,  will 
take  his  propositions  into  consideration ;  and  though 
he  may  not  immediately  enter  into  his  views  and  adopt 


67 

his  plans,  he  may  be  induced  so  to  meditate  upon  them, 
that  afterwards  he  may  see  the  propriety  and  the  fea- 
sibihty  of  carrying  them  into  eifect.  But  do  not  ap- 
proach him  in  the  character  of  a  lordly  dictator,  making 
all  you  say  a  sine  qua  non,  to  which  he  must  submit, 
or  suffer  the  pains  of  eternal  damnation.  Do  not  call 
him  a  thief,  a  robber,  a  murderer,  and  then  proceed  to 
pronounce  sentence  of  condemnation  upon  him,  as 
though  you  were  the  commissioned  messenger  of 
Jehovah,  sent  expressly  to  denounce  his  awful  judg- 
ments upon  such  guilty  violators  of  his  law. 

This  course  will  but  irritate  the  passions,  excite 
angry  feelings,  beget  a  spirit  of  hostility,  and  provoke 
a  determined  opposition  to  any  attempt  you  may  make 
to  unloose  the  grasp  which  he  may  have  upon  his 
slave. 

''  A  soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath,"  says  Solomon, 
and  the  truth  of  this  maxim  has  been  proved  times 
without  number ;  while  its  opposite  has  been  equally 
tested — "Angry  words  stir  up  strife."  And  our  Saviour 
has  sanctioned  the  same  spirit  in  [his  directions  to  his 
apostles,  in  these  well-known  words,  "Be  ye  wise  as 
serpents,  and  harmless  as  doves."  With  these  words 
before  us,  it  is  very  difficult  to  reconcile  that  rough, 
uncouth  conduct,  exhibited  by  some  inexperienced 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  denunciatory  lan- 
guage spoken  by  others,  with  the  meekness  and  gen- 
tleness of  spirit,  and  harmlessness  of  deportment,  which 
ought  to  actuate  and  characterize  every  minister  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

This  spirit*  and  this  conduct  are  more  especially 
necessary,  when  we  are  about  to  assault  an  evil  of 
long  standing,  and,  in  the  estimation  of  many,  of  doubt- 
ful character  in  respect  to  its  morality,  as  is  the  case 


68 

with  slavery  ;  as  some  good  men  m  our  country  are 
not  yet  convinced  of  its  unlavi^fulness,  and  they  are 
verily  persuaded  that  it  is  their  duty,  now^  that  they 
have  them,  to  keep  the  slaves  in  their  ow^n  pos- 
session, because  they  think  they  can  provide  for  them 
better  than  they  can  for  themselves.  Allow  that  this 
is  prejudice — that  it  arises  from  erroneous  views  of  the 
subject — what  then  ?  Shall  we  come  down  upon  them 
in  all  the  ponderosity  of  our  high  commission,  and 
pronounce  wo  and  wrath  upon  them,  if  they  do  not 
instantly  "  let  the  oppressed  go  free  ?"  Will  this  method 
be  the  most  likely  to  effect  the  object  ?  It  may  gratify 
our  hatred  to  the  system  of  slavery  thus  to  pour  out 
the  vials  of  indignation  upon  its  abettors :  but  will  it 
enlighten  their  judgment,  and  soften  their  heart,  and 
so  induce  them  to  unite  with  us  in  emancipating  their 
slaves  ?    This  is  the  grand  question  to  be  solved. 

But  allowing  that  the  minister  of  Christ  is  possessed 
of  a  Christian  spirit,  and  that  consequently  he  is  actu- 
ated by  a  pure  motive,  then  I  say  he  may  do  much 
toward  effecting  emancipation.  Let  him  go  to  the 
slave-holder  in  the  spirit  of  his  divine  Master ;  let  love 
dwell  in  his  heart  and  actuate  his  tongue ;  let  him  ex- 
pose to  his  view  the  evils  of  the  system ;  impress  upon 
his  mind  the  vast  interests  which  are  involved  in  the 
subject;  convince  him,  if  possible,  that  in  setting  his 
slaves  free,  he  will  confer  blessings  on  himself,  his 
slaves,  his  country,  and  that  he  will  contribute  most 
effectually  to  promote  the  present  and  eternal  happi- 
ness of  millions  now  alive,  and  many  more  millions 
yet  to  live,  of  immortal  beings.  Urge  these  considera- 
tions upon  his  understanding  and  conscience,  with  all 
the  earnestness  which  sincerity  inspires,  and  with  all 
the  eloquene©  which  truth  will  enkindle. 


69 

If  he  objects,  listen  to  his  objections  with  patience^ 
answer  them  with  all  calmness  and  firmness,  and  then? 
renew  your  arguments  with  all  perseverance,  evincing, 
in  the  mean  time,  by  your  spirit  and  manner,  that  you 
seek  his  good,  and  the  good  of  those  intrusted  to  his 
care. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  minister  may  not  set 
before  the  slave-holder  the  dangers  that  hang  over  his 
head,  and  that  they  threaten  his  country  with  direful 
effects.  All  this  he  may  do  ;  nay,  he  must  do  it,  in 
order  to  relieve  himself  of  his  high  responsibility  to 
God  and  man.  But  while  he  does  this,  let  it  be  done 
in  a  spirit  and  style  that  will  evince  a  feeling  heart,  a 
heart  that  commiserates  the  unhappy  condition  of  his 
fellow-men,  and  that  he  is  ready  to  do  what  he  can,  by 
sacrificing  his  temporal  substance,  in  order  to  rid  the 
country  of  the  burden  of  slavery.  In  this  way,  the 
minister  of  Jesus  Christ  may  use  his  high  commission 
and  exert  his  powerful  influence  to  set  his  country  free. 
He  may  enlighten  the  public  mind,  by  presenting  those 
strong  arguments  which  are  calculated  to  show  the 
evils  of  slavery,  and  the  blessings  of  freedom ;  and 
surely  no  class  of  men  are  more  deeply  interested  in 
this  work,  than  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  They  are 
sent  expressly  to  ''  proclaim  liberty  to  thie  captives, 
and  to  open  the  prison  doors  to  them  that  are  bound ;" 
to  recommend  a  religion  which  teaches  naught  but 
good-will  to  men,  and  that  prescribes  those  duties 
which  grow  out  of  the  relations  of  human  society ; 
and,  above  all,  to  teach  mankind  to  do  as  they  would 
be  done  by  in  similar  circumstances ;  and,  while  they 
sustain  the  true  character  of  Christian  ministers,  they 
will  refrain  from  everything  that  would  tend  to  disturb 
the  peace  of  society,  and  use  those  weapons  only  which 


;  70 

are  compatible  with  their  character  'as  ministers  of 
love  and  good-will.  As  such,  they  cannot  countenance 
rebellion  among  the  slaves,  any  more  than  they  can 
cruelty  among  the  masters  ;  so  that  while  they  are 
urging  upon  the  latter  the  duty  and  benefits  of  eman- 
cipation, they  will  enjoin  upon  the  former  obedience  to 
their  masters,  until  the  time  comes  for  their  freedom, 
when  they  may  ''choose  it,  rather"  than  their  present 
state  of  servitude.  Hence  they  will  discountenance 
all  attempts  among  the  slaves  to  rise  against  their 
masters,  as  well  as  all  attempts  among  the  professed 
lovers  of  freedom  to  "  steal  a  man,"  or  to  induce  the 
slaves  to  free  themselves  in  a  clandestine  manner. 
These  things  he  knows  are  forbidden  alike  by  the  laws 
of  God,  the  laws  of  humanity,  or  those  laws  which 
regulate  human  society. 

Now  let  the  minister  of  Christ  deport  himself  in  this 
manner,  and  he  may  exert  a  tremendous  influence  for 
good  on  all  concerned,  and  contribute  most  powerfully 
to  bring  about  the  emancipation  for  which  we  plead. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MOTIVES    TO    EMANCIPATION — THE    EVILS    OF    THE    DO- 
MESTIC   SLAVE-TRADE. 

The  moral  good  that  would  be  effected  by  emanci- 
pation is  incalculable,  as  it  would  remove  many  of  the 
moral  evils  which  are  consequent  upon  a  state  of  sla- 
very as  it  exists  in  our  country.  These  evils,  indeed, 
are  numerous,  as  will  appear  from  undeniable  facts. 

I  know,  indeed,  that  some  masters  treat  their  slaves 
with  justice  and  humanity,  instruct  them  in  the  know- 


71 

ledge  of  religion  and  morals,  and  that  quite  a  number 
of  the  slaves  are  truly  religious ;  though  it  must  be 
allowed  that  many  who  profess  religion  are  extremely 
lax  in  their  moral  principles  and  conduct,  owning,  no 
doubt,  to  their  extreme  ignorance,  and  the  false  notion 
that  they  have  a  right  to  cheat  their  masters  by  occa- 
sionally stealing  their  property. 

But  even  allowing  all  that  charity  would  claim  for 
religious  masters  and  slaves,  that  is,  that  they  live  up 
to  the  requisitions  of  Christianity,  it  is  well  known  that, 
among  others,  the  moral  precepts  are  daily  violated, 
that  licentiousness  abounds,  and  that  with  whatever 
abhorrence  we  may  think  and  speak  of  amalgamation, 
it  prevails  to  an  alarming  extent  in  all  the  slave  States. 
These  facts  I  believe  are  incontrovertible. 

These,  however,  are  not  the  worst  of  the  evils, 
though  it  must  be  revolting  to  every  sound  moralist, 
and  much  more  to  every  sincere  Christian,  to  behold 
their  demoralizing  effects.  The  domestic  slave-trade 
is  carried  on,  if  not  with  all  the  horrors  of  that  abomi- 
nable traffic  which  first  brought  the  blacks  to  our  shores, 
yet  it  is  attended  with  circumstances  sufficiently  shock- 
ing to  harrow  up  the  feelings  of  every  Christian  phi- 
lanthropist. Slave-markets  are  kept  in  Baltimore,  in 
Washington,  in  Richmond,  in  Charleston,  and  how 
many  more  places  I  know  not,  where  the  dealers  in 
slaves  resort  for  the  purpose  of  selling  and  buying  their 
fellow-beings,  with  as  much  nonchalance  as  a  drover 
and  butcher  would  sell  and  buy  cattle.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  domestic  traffic,  husbands  and  wives, 
parents  and  children,  brothers  and  sisters,  are  separated 
from  each  other,  and  sold  into  perpetual  bondage  ;  and, 
in  many  instances,  even  fathers  sell  their  own  sons 
and  daughters  to  the  slave-driver.      This  horrid  prac- 


72 

tice  not  only  severs  the  ties  which  bind  relatives  to- 
gether, but  compels  to  a  violation  of  the  express  com- 
mands of  God,  by  rendering  it  impossible  for  husbands 
to  provide  for,  and  protect  their  v^ives  ;  for  wives  to  love 
•and  obey  their  husbands  ;  for  parents  to  provide  for 
their  children  ;  and  for  children  to  honour  and  obey 
their  parents.  Hence,  the  marriage  contract  is  violated, 
and  the  reciprocal  duties  arising  from  conjugal,  paren- 
tal, and  filial  relations,  cannot  be  discharged. 

All  this  arises  unavoidably  out  of  the  state  of  slavery 
as  it  is  sanctioned  in  our  country.  I  do  not  say  that  it 
necessarily  originates  from  slavery,  for  it  is  possible  to 
avoid  it,  were  those  who  hold  slaves  to  set  their  faces 
against  such  manifest  abuses  of  it.  It  is  possible,  I  be- 
lieve, so  to  regulate  slavery  as  to  prohibit  this  promis- 
cuous intercourse  of  the  sexes,  this  cruel  severing  of 
relatives  one  from  the  other  ;  but  it  is  not  so  regulated 
in  our  country,  and,  however  possible  it  may  be,  we 
know  that  these  things  exist ;  that  the  most  e  idt  aring 
of  all  ties  are  severed ;  and  that  all  the  evils  conse- 
quent upon  the  separation  of  husbands  from  their  wives, 
and  of  parents  from  their  children,  are  coming  to  pass 
daily,  and  that  with  an  increasing  frequency. 

I  cannot  think  and  write  upon  this  subject  without 
feeling  all  those  emotions  stirred  within  me  which 
arise  from  conjugal  and  parental  aflfection ;  and  it  is 
extremely  difficult  so  to  restrain  them,  as  to  prevent 
them  from  producing  that  deep  indignation  which 
would  lead  to  the  strongest  expressions  of  disapproba- 
tion of  the  terrible  results  of  the  domestic  slave^rade. 
But  I  must  check  this  overflowing  of  passion,  and  pro- 
ceed to  say,  that  a  system  which  almost  necessarily 
results  in  such  breaches  of  the  moral  law,  must  be 
stamped  with  infamy ;  it  must  be  condemned  as  un- 


78 

lawful,  as  inhuman,  as  unnatural,  and,  therefore,  con- 
trary to  every  dictate  of  reason,  of  religion,  of  human- 
ity, and,  of  course,  to  every  principle  of  true  patriotism. 

Now  the  emancipation  for  which  I  plead  puts  an  end 
to  these  evils.  Let  the  slaves  be  set  free,  and  the 
master  will  no  longer  have  it  in  his  power  to  sell  them 
to  the  highest  bidder  into  perpetual  bondage.  He 
will  no  longer  have  it  in  his  power  to  separate  hus- 
band and  wife,  parent  and  child,  and  thus  sever  all 
the  ties  that  bind  mankind  together,  by  selling  them  to 
the  slave-dealers.  Instead  of  beholding  that  heart- 
rending anguish  which  is  felt  and  expressed  by  these 
husbands  and  wives,  these  parents  and  children,  when 
thus  compelled,  by  the  cruel  acts  of  these  inhuman 
masters,  to  bid  adieu  to  all  that  they  hold  most  dear  to 
them  in  this  worlds  we  should  see  happy  families, 
dweUing  together  in  the  unity  of  conjugal  and  parental 
affection;  labouring  for  each  other's  benefit,  and  pro- 
pelled in  their  work  by  the  hope  of  a  reward  for  their 
toil. 

Is  this  a  small  benefit?  Is  this  a  weak  motive? 
What  greater  earthly  benefit  can  a  human  being  enjoy, 
than  to  be  assured  that  naught  but  death,  or  some  avoid- 
able crime,  shall  separate  him  from  those  he  loves  above 
every  other  finite  being  ?  What  stronger  motive,  this 
side  of  heaven,  can  be  presented  to  a  rational  mind, 
than  to  be  assured  that  he  shall  reap  the  reward  of  his 
own  labour ;  that  while  he  labours  for  his  employer, 
he  is  providing  for  himself  and  his  own  household? 

He  that  can  say  the  evils  I  have  enumerated  are 
light  and  trivial,  must  have  a  mind  darkened  by  the 
thickest  cloud  of  ignorance,  and  a  heart  hardened  by  a 
long  course  of  iniquity.  What !  Is  it  a  trifling  thing 
to  be  compelkd  to  violate  the  principles  of  God's  law? 
10 


n 

Is  it  a  trivial  evil  to  drive  man  into  si"n,  as  with  the 
whip  of  a  scorpion?  Those  who  think  so  must  cer- 
tainly have  thrown  off  all  fear  of  God.  Nay,  they 
must  be  heartless  atheists.  They  must  have  persuaded 
themselves  that  there  is  no  such  God  as  the  Bible  re- 
veals, who  takes  cognizance  of  the  thoughts  and  ac- 
tions of  men,  and  who  will  assuredly  punish  the  unre- 
pentant violators  of  his  law. 

But  I  will  not  multiply  arguments  upon  this  point. 
It  is  too  evident  to  need  proof,  that  a  system  which 
leads  to  such  infractions  of  the  eternal  rule  of  right, 
must  be  founded  in  injustice,  and  must,  therefore,  be 
abandoned,  in  order  to  secure  the  blessings  of  Almighty 
God,  and,  of  course,  to  secure  the  happiness  and  pros- 
perity of  our  country. 

Now,  I  ask,  will  not  every  American  patriot,  every 
Christian  philanthropist,  and,  above  all,  every  Christian 
minister,  lend  their  influence  to  effect  a  different  state 
of  things  in  our  beloved  country  ?  Do  they  not  wish 
the  perpetuation  of  our  civil  and  religious  institutions  ? 
Let  them  use  their  influence  to  rid  the  country  of  this 
enormous  clog,  which,  if  not  removed,  will  sooner  or 
later  stop  the  wheels  of  government  from  revolving. 

Let  those  who  live  in  the  slave  States,  who  see  and 
deprecate  the  evils  I  have  enumerated,  if  they  would, 
rescue  themselves  from  condemnation,  for  indulging  in 
a  spirit  of  indifference  to  the  fate  of  their  country,  ex- 
ert themselves  to  check  their  progress,  and  finally  to 
remove  them  out  of  the  way,  by  striking  a  death-blow 
at  their  cause.  If  they  disapprove,  as  I  believe  they 
must,  of  these  infractions  of  the  social  rights  of  man- 
kind, they  cannot  be  clear  before  God,  nor  be  justified 
by  an  enlightened  community,  without  using  their 
highest  exertions  to  eradicate  these  evils  from  their 


75 

midst.  Let  those  statesmen,  therefore,  into  whose 
hands  the  destinies  of  their  country  are  committed, 
look  at  the  subject  calmly,  and  deliberate  upon  the 
best  means  to  rid  the  land  of  slavery.  Let  those  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel,  to  whom  are  committed,  in  the  or-^ 
der  of  God,  the  destinies  of  immortal  souls,  co-operate 
with  every  enlightened  statesman,  and  with  every  pa- 
triotic Christian,  in  urging  on  the  work  of  emancipation. 

Let  them  not  excuse  themselves  by  saying,  that  the 
evils  of  licentiousness,  and  other  acts  of  wickedness, 
prevail  in  free  countries.  I  know  they  do,  to  an  alarm- 
ing extent.  But  to  these  evils  are  not  superadded  the 
selling  each  other  into  perpetual  bondage,  and  thus 
legalizing  those  acts  of  immorality  which  separate 
husband  and  wife,  parent  and  child,  and,  by  so  doing, 
compel  mankind  to  violate  an  express  command  of  Al- 
mighty God  ;  or,  which  amounts  to  the  same  thing, 
not  allow  of  any  legal  marriage  among  the  slaves,  and 
thus  prevent  the  conjugal  and  parental  relations  from 
having  any  legal  existence. 

These  are  the  consequences  of  the  domestic  slave- 
trade.  And  to  say  they  must  be  tolerated,  is  to  say 
that  God  must  be  insulted  to  his  face ;  that  his  laws 
must  be  contemned,  set  at  naught,  openly  violated  with 
impunity,  and  his  whole  moral  government  annihilated 
at  a  stroke.  Alas  for  my  country,  that  these  evils 
should  be  tolerated — should  be  winked  at — should 
pass  unrebuked !  O  that  the  Christian  part  of  the  com- 
munity might  wake  up  to  the  importance  of  this  sub- 
ject! 

Now  if  these  considerations  do  not  present  one  of 
the  strongest  motives  to  induce  all  the  slave-holders,  as 
well  as  all  others  interested  in  the  welfare  of  our  coun- 
try, to  exert  themselves  in  this  holy  cause,  I  know  not 


76 

what  possibly  can.  He  who  can  listen  to  the  cries  of 
injured  innocence;  to  the  groans  of  husbands  and  wives 
— so  called,  at  least ;  to  the  bitter  anguish  of  parents 
and  children,  of  mothers  and  daughters,  separated  from 
each  other  by  the  cruel  hand  of  their  masters,  and  not 
feel  the  spirit  of  commiseration  stirred  within  him,  must 
be  callous  to  the  tender  sympathies  of  human  nature, 
and  more  especially  dead  to  the  holy  feelings  of  Christi- 
anity. He  who  can  look  on  all  this  with  the  nonchalance 
of  the  stoic,  and  not  be  moved  to  put  forth  an  effort  to 
stop  the  raging  disease,  to  apply  a  remedy,  if  such 
remedy  be  at  all  within  his  reach,  must  be  proof  against 
all  the  tender  feelings  of  Christian  sympathy,  and  deaf 
to  the  calls  of  the  deep  distress  of  his  fellow-beings. 

I  conclude  this  chapter  by  offering  a  fervent  petition 
to  Almighty  God,  that  he  may  shed  a  ray  of  light  upon 
this  subject ;  that  he  may  bless  the  words  that  I  write ; 
that  h3  may  enlighten  the  understandings,  and  soften 
the  hearts  of  American  slaveholders;  that  he  may 
guide  x\merican  statesmen,  ministers,  and  Christians 
of  all  orders,  that  they  may  be  induced  to  put  forth  a 
combined  and  simultaneous  effort  to  free  their  country 
from  the  curse  of  the  domestic  slave-trade,  and  help  to 
proclaim  liberty  to  the  numerous  captives  who  are 
now  in  our  land.     Amen  and  amen ! 


77 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MOTIVES  TO   EMANCIPATION — SLAVERY  DEPRECATED  BY 
MANY  EMINENT  MEN. 

I  HAVE  assumed  it  as  a  truth,  that  there  are  many 
in  the  slave-holding  States  who  see  and  deprecate  the 
evils  of  slavery.  That  there  have  been,  and  are  now 
such,  is  manifest.  Washington,  whose  name  is  a  pass- 
port for  liberty,  for  virtuous  patriotism,  for  bravery  and 
love  of  country,  throughout  the  civilized  world,  by  his 
last  will  and  testament  liberated  all  his  slaves,  making 
such  provision  for  them  as  he  thought  necessary 
and  advisable.  Jefferson,  the  author  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  said,  that  in  a  struggle  of  the 
slaves  for  liberty,  he  knew  of  no  attribute  of  the  Al- 
mighty which  would  allow  him  to  take  part  with  their 
masters.  And  even  John  Randolph,  with  all  his  ec- 
centricities, emancipated  his  slaves  by  his  last  will  and 
testament.  These  enlightened  statesmen,  with  many 
others  that  might  be  mentioned,  declared,  by  their  words 
and  acts,  that  they  considered  slavery  incompatible 
with  the  rights  and  privileges  of  their  fellow-men. 

And  how  many  are  there  in  Virginia,  and  other  slave 
States,  who  every  year  liberate  their  slaves,  and  furnish 
them  with  means  to  emigrate  to  Liberia!  Why  do 
they  do  this  ?  They  must  do  it  either  because  they 
find  slave-labour  unproductive,  and,  therefore,  wish  to 
rid  themselves  of  it,  from  a  principle  of  selfishness ;  or 
they  are  convinced  of  the  injustice  of  the  system,  and, 
therefore,  wish  to  free  themselves  from  the  responsi^ 
bility  of  its  practical  continuance :  and  either  case 
establishes  the  principl©  for  which  I  pleatj. 


7S 

Look  also  at  the  strenuous  efforts  that  have  been 
made  by  Cassius  M.  Clay,  in  behalf  of  freedom  in  the 
State  of  Kentucky  ;  and  it  is  a  cause  of  deep  regret  that 
he  was  compelled,  by  mob  violence,  to  desist  from  pub- 
lishing his  paper  in  Lexington,  where  his  voice  could 
be  heard  with  powerful  effect  by  the  citizens  of  his  na- 
tive State.  The  sentiments  which  he  uttered,  how- 
ever, will  find  an  echo  in  the  heart  of  many  lovers  of 
freedom  in  Kentucky,  and  they  will  yet  rise  up  in  their 
strength,  and  battle  manfully  in  the  cause  of  emanci- 
pation. In  the  mean  time,  other  voices  are  raised  in 
behalf  of  the  cause  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and  I 
am  glad  to  find,  in  a  recent  publication,  that  an  author 
who  styles  himself  "  a  Virginian,"  has  advocated  sen- 
timents similar  to  those  which  I  have  presented  in 
these  chapters. 

To  show  the  state  of  feeling  among  some  of  the  citi- 
zens of  the  slave  States,  I  give  the  following  extracts 
from  the  writings  of  two  eminent  citizens  of  the  State 
of  Maryland ; — the  first  is  from  Dr.  R.  S.  Stewart,  of 
Dodon,  Anne  Arundel  County,  addressed  to  Mr.  Carey, 
in  March,  1845.  Dr.  Stewart,  it  seems,  had  heard  that 
Mr.  Carey,  if  elected  to  the  Maryland  legislature,  in- 
tended to  devote  much  of  his  time  to  the  subject  of  the 
black  population  of  the  State,  and  to  promote,  if  pos- 
sible, measures  for  their  gradual  emancipation.  In 
this  letter  he  say  : — 

''  It  gave  me,  a  slave-holder  and  citizen  of  Maryland, 
infinite  pleasure  to  hear  it ;  and  it  was  with  the  deep- 
est regret  I  learned,  soon  after,  that  you  were  not  re- 
turned to  the  House.  If  I  have  been  correctly  informed, 
I  beg  leave  to  say  to  you,  I  honour  you  for  your  sen- 
timent ;  and  I  hope  you  will  not  allow  so  good  a  reso- 
lution to  die,  but  will  kindle  it  anew,  and  seek  some 


79 

other  equally  practical  means  of  bringing  this  subject 
fully  and  fairly  before  the  public.  It  is  one  that  has 
long  occupied  much  of  my  thoughts;  and  I  have 
watched  anxiously  for  some  one  to  show  his  hand  in 
this  cause.  At  this  moment  my  attention  has  been 
more  distinctly  called  to  it,  by  the  manly,  high-minded 
letter  of  Mr.  C.  M.  Clay,  addressed  to  the  people  of 
Kentucky.  There  is  not  a  sentiment  or  a  political 
principle  expressed  by  him  to  his  fellow-citizens,  that 
does  not,  with  equal  force,  apply  to  our  noble  little 
State ;  and  every  prediction  applies  to  us  as  forcibly 
as  it  does  to  them.  The  time  has  come,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  of  it,  to  take  the  needful  steps :  slave- 
holders themselves  are  anxious  for  it,  and  will  not  be 
displeased  to  see  the  subject/azV/j'  taken  into  consider- 
ation. I  have  been  a  planter  for  five  years,  and  have 
had  an  opportunity  of  discussing  these  points  with 
slave-holders  of  all  parties,  and  I  do  not  remember  a 
single  instance  in  which  objection  was  made  to  the 
principle  of  emancipation :  some  difference,  it  is  true, 
exists  as  to  the  manner  and  time,  but  none  as  to  the 
necessity.  Heretofore,  this  w^hole  subject  has  been 
wrapped  in  a  mystery,  as  imposing  as  the  secrets  of 
free-masonry  ;  and  no  one,  not  a  member  of  the  order 
of  slave-holders,  has  been  allowed  to  open  his  mouth 
and  say  anything  about  it.  It  is  a  dangerous  question ; 
it  is  an  exciting  subject ;  it  is  a  matter  that  belongs  to 
slave-holders  themselves, — have  been  the  usual  and 
repeated  injunctions  laid  upon  all  who  honestly  and 
humanely  have  desired  to  inquire  into  the  merits  and 
demerits  of  this  cause.  Is  this  as  it  should  be  ?  Is  it 
the  course  that  should  be  pursued  by  an  educated  peo- 
ple, who  have  at  command  the  means  to  defend  the 
truth,  and  expose  error?     Certainly  not.     If  our  State 


$0 

is  labouring  under  an  evil,  let  the  cause  and  nature  of 
the  malady  be  investigated,  and  then  let  us  apply  the 
remedy.  If,  on  the  contrary,  none  can  be  shown  to 
exist,  at  least  agitution  will  receive  a  check  that  will 
be  grateful  to  all  lovers  of  peace  and  order.  Firmly 
convinced  that  such  a  course  will  be  displeasing  but  to 
few,  and  it  may  promote  the  general  welfare  of  Mary- 
land, I  beg  leave  to  propose  to  you  the  establishment 
of  a  paper,  devoted  to  the  cause  of  emancipation  in 
our  State,  on  the  principles  of  pohcy,  humanity,  and 
self-interest." 

Mr.  Carey,  instead  of  adopting  the  proposition  of 
his  friend  for  the  establishment  of  a  paper,  published 
his  thoughts  in  a  pamphlet.  In  the  course  of  his  in- 
vestigation, he  has  the  following  pithy  and  appropriate 
Remarks :- — 

"  For  years  past,  our  cotton-growing  States  have 
been  exporting  their  soil ;  and  with  that  improvidence 
\vhich  slavery  generates,  that  love  of  present  indul- 
gence, careless  of  what  may  follow,  the  South  has  re- 
ceived in  return  the  means  of  enjoyment  only, — nothing 
wherewith  to  renovate  the  outras^ed  o^round.  Such  a 
process,  long  continued,  must,  in  the  end,  ruin  the  finest 
lands  in  the  world.  Its  effects  are  apparent  in  the 
Atlantic  States,  and  rich  lands  in  the  South- West, 
operating  irresistibly  to  draw  the  planters  of  Carolina 
and  Georgia  from  their  worn-out  fields. 

"  The  same  general  observations  will  apply  to  our 
slave-holding  sections  in  Maryland,  and  to  many  parts 
of  Eastern  Virginia,  too,  if  it  were  necessary  to  pur- 
sue the  investigation  there.  Emigration  to  the  West 
has  kept  pace  with  the  impoverishment  of  our  lands. 
Large  tracts  have  come  into  the  hands  of  a  few  pro- 
prielors,j-^too  large  to  be*  improved,  aod  too'  much  ex- 


m 

hausted  to  be  productive.  But  this  is  not  the  worst. 
The  traveller,  as  he  journeys  through  these  districts, 
smitten  w^ith  premature  barrenness  as  with  a  curse, 
beholds  fields,  once  enclosed  and  subject  to  tillage, 
now  abandoned  and  waste,  and  covered  with  straggling 
pines,  or  scrubby  thickets,  which  are  fast  overgrowing 
the  waning  vestiges  of  former  cultivation.  From 
swamps  and  undrained  morasses  malaria  exhales,  and, 
like  a  pestilence,  infests  the  country.  The  inhabit- 
ants become  a  sallow  race  ;  the  current  of  life  stag- 
nates ;  energy  fails  ;  the  spirits  droop.  Over  the  whole 
region  a  melancholy  aspect  broods.  There  are  every- 
where signs  of  dilapidation,  from  the  mansion  of  the 
planter,  with  its  windows  half  glazed,  its  doors  half 
hinged,  its  lawn  trampled  by  domestic  animals,  that 
have  ingress  and  egress  through  the  broken  enclosures, 
to  the  ragged  road-side  house,  where  thriftless  poverty 
finds  its  abode.  No  neat  cottages,  with  gardens  and 
flowers,  giving  life  to  the  landscape  ;  no  beautiful  vil- 
lages, where  cultivated  taste  blends  with  rustic  sim- 
plicity, enriching  and  beautifying ;  no  flourishing  towns 
alive  with  the  bustle  of  industry :  none  of  these  are 
seen :  no,  nor  any  diversified  succession  of  well-culti- 
vated farms,  with  their  substantial  homesteads  and  ca- 
pacious barns  ;  no  well-constructed  bridges  ;  no  well- 
conditioned  roads.  Neglect,  the  harbinger  of  decay, 
has  stamped  her  impress  everywhere.  Slavery,  bring- 
ing with  it  from  its  African  home  its  characteristic 
accompaniments,  seems  to  have  breathed  over  its 
resting-place  here  the  same  desolating  breath  which 
made  Sahara  a  desert." 

These  testimonies  are  the  more  valuable,  because 
they  come  from  slave-holders  themselves,  who  are  eye- 
witnesses of  the  desolating  effects  of  slavery,  and  they 
11 


82 

fully  confirm  all  that  I  have  heretofore  said  respecting' 
its  deteriorative  results  upon  the  physical  condition  of 
the  slave-holding  States.  These  gentlemen,  fully  im- 
pressed vrith  the  impoverishing  nature  of  slave-labour, 
were  impelled  to  express  themselves  in  this  strong 
language,  with  the  hope  of  exciting  their  fellow-citi- 
zens to  adopt  measures  for  a  gradual  emancipation, 
merely  from  considerations  of  self-preservation. 

If  we  add  to  these  the  demoralizing  influence  of 
slavery,  as  depicted  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  mo- 
tive for  emancipation  acquires  a  force  as  far  above  the 
one  presented  in  those  extracts,  as  heaven  is  higher 
than  the  earth.  This  influence  is  seen  and  felt  upon 
all  classes  of  society — upon  the  master  and  his  slave  ; 
and  it  renders  both  unfit  for  the  enjoyments  of  social 
life,  for  domestic  happiness,  for  civil  and  political  pros- 
perity. 

I  might  strengthen  these  remarks  from  letters  which 
have  been  published  respecting  the  state  of  things  in 
the  West  Indies.  From  these  it  appears  that,  notwith- 
standing all  the  fears  of  the  land-proprietors  of  the  sad 
effects  of  emancipation,  and  notwithstanding  that  they 
did  for  a  while  suffer  for  the  want  of  more  labour,  lat- 
terly the  freed  slaves  have  entered  upon  their  work 
with  renewed  courage  and  cheerfulness,  either  tilling 
their  own  ground,  which  they  have  purchased,  or  la- 
bouring for  their  former  masters  for  a  stipulated  price ; 
so  that  things  now  present  a  greater  state  of  prosperity. 
These  facts,  which  have  come  to  my  knowledge  since 
I  wrote  my  former  remarks  upon  this  subject,  oblige 
me  to  modify  a  little  what  I  have  before  asserted,  so 
far,  at  least,  as  to  say  that  their  freedom  is  becoming 
more  highly  appreciated,  and  that  all  classes  are  be- 
coming much  better  satisfied  with  their  condition  ;  so 


83 

much  so^  that  it  may  be  reasonably  anticipated  that 
this  grand  experiment,  under  all  the  disadvantages  in 
which  it  was  made,  will  prove  to  all  to  have  been  well 
conceived  and  happily  executed. 

Shall  the  slave  States  of  America  be  the  last  to 
abolish  the  slave-trade  ? — I  mean  the  domestic  slave- 
trade  !  It  appears,  by  an  extract  from  the  ''  Franklin 
Journal,"  that  even  Germany  has  resolved  to  punish 
those  engaged  in  the  African  slave-trade  as  pirates,  or 
otherwise  to  punish  them  for  the  crime  of  "  rape."  The 
following  is  the  extract,  taken  from  the  protocol  of  the 
21st  sitting  of  the  Germanic  Diet,  dated  June  the  19th, 
1845:— 

''  Fully  appreciating  the  sentiments  and  principles  of 
Christian  charity,  which  have  induced  the  courts  of 
Great  Britain  and  Austria,  of  Prussia  and  Russia,  to 
conclude  the  convention  for  the  suppression  of  the 
slave-trade,  dated  the  20th  of  December,  1841 ;  and 
animated  with  a  desire  to  contribute,  as  far  as  in  their 
power,  towards  the  entire  abolition  of  this  criminal 
traffic,  all  the  Germanic  powers  agree  to  prohibit  the 
trade  in  slaves.  In  consequence  whereof,  in  all  the 
States  in  which  there  are  no  laws  for  the  punishment 
of  this  traffic,  it  shall  be  punished  as  piracy ;  and  in 
the  States  whose  laws  make  no  special  mention  of 
piracy,  it  shall  be  punished  in  the  same  manner  as 
rape,  or  in  a  manner  not  less  severe." 

Now,  though  the  African  slave-trade  has  been  pro- 
nounced a  piracy  by  the  American  Congress,  and  long 
since  prohibited,  yet,  so  long  as  the  domestic  slave- 
trade  is  allowed  among  the  several  slave  States,  at- 
tended as  it  is  w^ith  all  the  cruelties  I  have  enumerated, 
they  must  be  considered  as  sanctioning,  in  some  mea- 
sure at  least,  the  horrid  practice  ;  and  hence  are  in- 


84 

volved  ill  the  guilt  and  consequent  shame  of  the 
slave-trade. 

Let  these  States,  then,  thus  implicated,  arise  in  the 
majesty  of  their  strength,  and,  with  a  Adrtuous  indigna- 
tion, roll  this  reproach  from  their  shoulders.  Let  those 
virtuous  and  Christian  citizens  in  these  slave  States, 
who  see  and  deplore  this  abominable  practice,  proclaim 
war  against  it,  and  use  their  influence  to  have  it  done 
away.  How  else  can  they  be  guiltless  ?  Can  they 
look  on  with  cold  indifference,  and  see  their  fellow- 
beings  torn  from  each  other, — husbands,  wives,  and 
children,  separated  forever  by  dealers  in  human  flesh 
and  blood,  and  not  lift  their  voices  against  it?  If  they 
can  and  do,  surely  the  blood  of  those  injured  persons 
will  cry  out  against  them.  They  must,  therefore — 
absolutely  must — if  they  would  escape  the  curse  pro- 
nounced upon  the  willing  participators  in  other  men's 
sins,  lift  up  their  voice,  and  put  forth  their  energies  to 
arrest  the  onward  progress  of  this  enormous  evil.     ^^ 

Haste,  then,  ye  virtuous  patriots,  to  stop  the  pro- 
gress of  this  devouring  scourge  !  Go  to  your  states- 
men, to  your  governors,  to  the  judges  of  your  courts, 
to  the  members  of  your  legislatures,  and  tell  them  in 
the  language  of  love,  but  of  plainness  and  firmness,  of 
the  danger  which  hangs  over  their  heads.  Expostu- 
late with  them  on  the  iniquity  of  continuing  in  the 
practice  of  buying  and  selling  men,  and  women,  and 
-children,  and  reducing  them  to  hopeless  bondage. 
Point  to  their  barren  fields,  to  their  dilapidated  houses, 
to  the  emaciated  and  poverty-stricken  negroes,  and 
beseech  them  to  listen  to  the  bitter  cries  of  anguish, 
wrung  from  the  hearts,  and  dropping  from  the  lips,  of 
wives  and  daughters  severed  from  their  husbands  and 
mothers, — and  then  ask  them  to  look  at  these  marks  of 


86 

desolation,  and  these  signs  of  human  distress ;  and, 
finally,  urge  upon  them,  with  all  the  earnestness  which 
truth  and  sincerity  can  inspire,  the  importance,  the  ab- 
solute necessity,  for  their  present  and  future  well-being, 
of  their  doing  something  to  rid  their  country  of  this 
desolating  scourge. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

IT  IS  A  NATIONAL  WORK— THE   EXPENSE. 

I  THINK  I  have  said  enough  upon  the  necessity  and 
the  motives  of  emancipation.  If  the  considerations 
which  have  been  presented  will  not  induce  Christian 
patriots  to  exert  themselves  in  this  grand  enterprise,  I 
know  not  what  can. 

It  is,  however,  a  national  work.  It  does  not  belong 
to- the  church,  as  such;  to  any  one,  or  to  all  the  de- 
nominations of  Christians  in  our  country.  They  have, 
in  fact,  no  jurisdiction  over  it,  any  further  than  to  exer- 
cise disciphne  over  their  individual  members ;  they 
cannot  act  in  their  church  capacity  with  any  efficiency, 
only  so  far  as  they  may  express  their  opinions,  or  declare 
their  sentiments,  and  use  their  influence  upon  the  ru- 
lers of  the  nation,  to  induce  them  to  exert  themselves 
for  the  abrogation  of  their  laws  against  emancipation, 
and  thus  to  prepare  the  way  for  freedom.  But  the 
nation,  the  people  of  this  nation,  must  be  aroused  to 
the  importance  of  this  subject.  Theij  must  rally — 
must  come  to  the  rescue  of  the  slave,  by  speaking  in  a 
voice  which  will  be  heard  in  their  primary  assemblies, 
at  the  ballot-boxes,  and  let  their  rulers  know  that  it  is 
their  sovereign  will  and  pleasure  that  the  country  shall 


86 

no  longer  groan  under  the  burden  of  slavery — that  the 
slaves  must,  that  they  shall  be  set  free.  There  must 
be  one  simultaneous  movement  among  the  people  of 
this  land  in  favour  of  emancipation. 

It  cannot,  indeed,  be  expected  that  this  work  will 
be  done  at  once,  without  using  the  means  necessary 
to  enlighten  the  people,  to  convince  them  of  its  neces- 
sity and  practicability,  and  then  to  present  such  mo- 
tives as  will  move  them  to  action.  It  will  be  done,  if 
done  at  all,  probably  by  slow  degrees ;  much  opposi- 
tion must  be  anticipated,  met,  and  overcome  ;  apathy 
must  be  removed,  avarice  must  be  assaulted,  and  a 
thousand  nameless  enemies  must  be  fought  and  con- 
quered. But  the  work  must  be  begun,  prosecuted 
with  vigour,  and  persevered  in,  until  it  is  accomplished. 
There  may  be  different  opinions  in  respect  to  the 
methods  by  which  this  is  to  be  done ;  but  I  shall  pro- 
pose a  way,  before  I  conclude  these  chapters,  by  which 
I  think  it  may  be  effected,  leaving  it  to  others  to  adopt 
it,  or  devise  another  which  may  be  more  feasible.  At 
any  rate,  let  it  be  remembered  that  this  is  a  work  in 
which  every  individual  in  this  nation  has  a  deep  and 
an  abiding  interest,  and  therefore  it  is,  most  emphati- 
cally, a  national  work. 

In  the  mean  time  let  us  listen  to  an  objection  which, 
doubtless,  some  will  make  to  the  plan  I  have  proposed, 
of  raising,  by  taxation,  an  amount  sufficient  to  remu- 
nerate those  citizens  who  will  consent  to  liberate  their 
slaves.  To  this  it  may  be  objected,  that  it  would  in- 
volve the  country  in  an  expense  which  the  people  will 
not  bear.  Let  us  examine  the  strength  of  this  ob- 
jection. 

I  take  it  for  granted  that  the  slave-holders  would  not 
be  so  unreasonable  as  to  exact  the  full  price  for  each 


87 

slave,  such  as  might  be  demanded  for  a  full-grown^ 
sound,  and  healthy  man,  say  from  $500  to  $1000  s 
head.  This  would  be  preposterous.  Among  the 
4,000,000,  there  are  many  old,  others  infirm,  and  oth- 
ers too  young  for  labour,  who  therefore  would  be 
worth  little  or  nothing.  But  take  them  all  together,  old 
and  young,  men,  women,  and  children,  we  will  sup- 
pose there  might  be  paid,  on  an  average,  $100  apiece, 
and  I  presume  the  slave-holders  would  think  them- 
selves amply  remunerated  to  receive  thus  much. 
This  would  amount  to  $400,000,000,  which,  were  it 
demanded  all  at  once,  would  be  very  considerable, 
and  more  than  the  nation  could  well  pay.  But  my 
gradual  plan  of  emancipation  will  obviate  this  diffi- 
culty ;  and  allowing  that  it  will  require  twenty  years 
to  effect  it,  200,000  only  a  year  would  be  liberated ; 
and  these  would  demand  the  annual  payment,  at  $100  a 
head,  of  $20,000,000.  To  raise  this  amount  from  a 
population  of  twenty  miUions,  the  present  number  of 
inhabitants  in  the  United  States,  a  tax  of  one  dollar  a 
head  would  have  to  be  levied.  This  sum,  divided  among 
the  several  families,  in  proportion  to  their  property^ 
would,  it  is  true,  be  considerable  to  the  more  wealthy 
part  of  the  community  to  pay,  while  it  would  be  com- 
paratively light  among  the  middling  class,  and  nothing 
at  all  among  the  poor. 

Now,  although  those  wha  love  their  gold  better 
than  they  do  their  fellow-beings,  may  complain  of  this 
as  an  intolerable  burden,  yet  those  who  are  actuated 
by  philanthropic  feelings  and  views,  will  rejoice  at  an 
opportunity  for  contributing  a  portion  of  their  sub- 
stance to  liberate  a  multitude  of  immortal  beings  from- 
the  thraldom  of  slavery.  By  so  doing,  instead  of  im- 
poverishing themselves  or  their  country,  both  would 


88 

become  enriched,  the  lands  would  be  better  cultivated, 
the  now  sterile  fields  would  soon  be  reclaimed,  labour 
would  be  performed  more  cheerfully,  and  much  more 
advantageously  to  both  master  and  slave,  and,  of 
course,  the  products  of  the  soil  would  be  proportiona- 
bly  augmented  ;  and  hence  the  farmer,  the  mechanic, 
the  merchant,  and  every  class  and  profession,  would 
reap  the  benefit  of  the  happy  change ;  and,  as  an  in- 
evitable consequence,  the  country,  the  nation,  would 
be  enriched  and  strengthened  in  her  natural,  political, 
and  artificial  resources ;  and  thus  all,  individually  and 
collectively,  would  very  soon  be  doubly  repaid  for  all 
the  sacrifices  they  have  made,  beside  the  happiness  we 
shall  have  conferred  upon  millions  of  our  fellow-men, 
temporal  and  intellectual ;  and  then  add  the  blessings, 
moral  and  religious,  which  would  accrue  to  society,  by 
removing  the  temptations  to  idleness  and  luxury  on 
the  one  hand,  the  miseries  of  servile  labour  on  the 
other,  together  with  all  those  abominations  which  ori- 
ginate from  the  domestic  slave-trade,  as  heretofore 
enumerated,  and  you  have  some  of  the  numerous 
benefits  of  the  emancipation  herein  contemplated,  as  a 
reward  for  the  pecuniary  sacrifice  for  which  I  plead. 

But,  after  all,  what  is  the  amount  of  expense  here 
called  for,  in  comparison  to  the  sums  paid  for  the  de- 
struction of  human  life  by  the  waging  of  cruel  wars  ? 
an  expense  too  enormous  to  be  accurately  estimated. 
In  addition  to  the  amount  raised  by  other  means  and 
expended,  the  debt  of  Great  Britain,  from  the  year 
1689  to  1812,  had  accumulated  to  the  enormous  sum 
of  about  $2,611,000,000,  and  the  most  of  this  has  been 
expended  in  war — a  debt,  one  would  think,  sufficiently 
large  to  sink  a  nation !  And  even  in  the  United  States, 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  in  1783, 


89 

we  were  m  debt  about  $80,000,000,  and  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  in  1815,  the  government  owed  upwards  of 
$108,000,000.  This  was  the  result  of  the  first  and 
second  wars  with  Great  Britain.^  How  much  more 
was  actually  expended,  I  cannot  tell ;  but  I  believe  we 
may  safely  estimate  the  expense  of  the  late  war  with 
Mexico  at  not  less  than  $150,000,000,  which  would  be 
sufficient  to  liberate  1,500,000  slaves,  at  one  hundred 
dollars  each.  Look  at  that,  and  then  at  this,  and  tell 
me  whether  the  American  nation  be  not  able  to  throw 
off  the  burden  of  slavery  from  its  shoulders. 

Whatever  complaints  might  have  been  made  against 
the  government  for  contracting  this  heavy  debt,  instead 
of  uttering  useless  groans  under  it,  the  nation  devised 
and  executed  plans  for  its  liquidation,  so  that  in  a  few 
years  it  was  entirely  swept  away,  and  she  arose  like  a 
giant  from  the  combat,  shook  herself  from  the  load  of 
debt  which  had  accumulated,  and  presented  herself  to 
the  world  as  able  both  to  assert  and  maintain  her 
rights,  and  honestly  to  discharge  her  pecuniary  obliga- 
tions to  her  own  citizens,  and  to  her  foreign  creditors, 
and  then  go  on  in  her  career  of  national  prosperity, 
enlarging  her  borders,  increasing  her  population,  and 
multiplying  her  resources  of  individual  and  national 
wealth.  Now  let  her  put  ijorth  her  energies  to  free 
herself  from  the  mighty  incubus  of  slavery,  and  she 
will  prove  herself  worthy  of  the  name  she  bears — the 
Republic  of  the  United  States — a  nation  oi  freemen ! 

What  is  the  payment  of  20,000,000  of  dollars  annu- 
ally, for  such  a  nation—for  such  an  object  ?  It  is  but  a 
drop  from  the  bucket. 

But  even  though  her  citizens  were  compelled  to 
abridge  themselves  of  some  of  the  luxuries  of  life — 

See  Edinburgh  Enc,  vol.  7 — Arf.  Debt. 

12 


90 

tViough  her  u  ealthy  sons  and  daughters  were  to  deny 
themselves  the  privilege  of  wearing  costly  broadcloths 
and  silks,  of  drinking  wine,  of  chewing  and  smoking 
tobacco,  riding  in  coaches,  and  spending  their  time  and 
money  in  parties  of  pleasure,  that  they  might  be  instru- 
mental of  raising  millions  of  their  fellow--beings  from 
the  degradation  of  slavery,  to  the  exalted  privileges  of 
freemen ;  though,  I  say,  they  were  called  upon  to 
make  these  sacrifices,  to  deliver  those  who  are  now 
doomed  to  hard  and  unrequited  labour,  to  scanty  fare, 
deprived  of  all  the  luxuries,  and  many  of  the  necessa- 
ries of  life,  they  would  be  well  w^orth  making,  and 
would,  by  every  benevolent  person,  be  made  with  the 
utmost  cheerfulness. 

Yet  this  need  not  be  done.  No  man  need  abridge 
himself  of  a  single  luxury,  much  less  necessary  of 
life ;  he  need  not  sleep  an  hour  less,  work  harder  or 
longer  in  a  day,  or  deny  himself  of  his  daily  food,  by 
contributing  his  proportion  to  this  grand  object.  Nay, 
the  moment  he  enters  into  it  heartily,  he  will  labour 
with  greater  cheerfulness,  will  transact  his  business 
with  a  livelier  activity,  eat  his  daily  allowance  with 
sweeter  zest,  sleep  on  his  pillow  with  a  more  quiet  re- 
pose, and  enjoy  the  happiness  of  social  life  with  a 
more  exquisite  delight  than  he  ever  did  before,  or  than 
he  otherwise  could.  In  so  far  as  he  does  this,  "  hear- 
tily as  unto  God,"  moving  forward  under  a  conscious- 
ness of  solemn  duty,  he  will  satisfy  the  demands  of  an 
enlightened  judgment,  and,  if  he  add  his  other  indis- 
pensable duties  which  he  owes  to  God  and  man,  he  will 
doubtless,  in  after  days,  reflect  with  peculiar  satisfac- 
tion upon  his  past  conduct,  "rejoicing  in  the  testimony 
of  a  good  conscience,  that  in  godly  simplicity  and  sin- 
cerity he  has  had  his  conversation  in  the  world." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

FURTHER  OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED — IF  NOT  JUSTICE, 
YET  THE  GENIUS  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  ENJOINS  THE 
DUTY   OF   AIDING  IN  THIS   WORK. 

I  KNOW  not  that  my  general  plan  will  be  favourably  or 
unfavourably  received.  I  anticipate,  however,  much 
opposition,  and  that  from  different  quarters,  originating 
from  a  variety  of  causes.  Those  in  the  free  States 
may  object  that  they  are  under  no  obligation  to  con- 
tribute to  this  object,  because  this  would  be  unjust, 
inasmuch  as  they  have  already  sacrificed  their  slaves 
upon  the  altar  of  freedom,  and  therefore  they  have 
done  their  part  toward  effecting  emancipation. 

Allowing  this  to  be  even  so,  it  does  not  follow  that 
they  have  done  all  that  Christianity  requires  at  their 
hands.  This  requires  of  its  disciples,  not  only  that 
they  should  do  justly,  but  also  that  they  should  love 
mercy-  Nor  does  it  limit  its  requirements  to  those 
who  are  friends^  but  it  includes  our  enemies  within  the 
circle  of  our  benevolence.  While  the  priest  and  Le- 
vite  looked  on  with  cold  indifference  upon  the  wounded 
traveller  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho,  helpless,  and  wel- 
tering in  his  blood,  the  good  Samaritan  has  compassion 
upon  him,  binds  up  his  wounds,  puts  him  upon  his 
own  beast,  and  commits  him  to  the  innkeeper,  with  the 
promise  of  ample  remuneration  for  all  his  expense  and 
trouble.  Christianity,  in  dealing  out  its  precepts,  does 
not  stop  nicely  to  balance  the  claims  of  justice  between 
man  and  man,  but  it  calls  upon  its  disciples  rather  to 
imitate  its  adorable  Author,  who,  though  he  thought  it 
not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  emptied  himself,  took 


92 

the  form  of  a  servant,  and  became  poor,  that  we^ 
through  his  poverty,  might  be  made  rich.  Hence  its 
followers  are  called  upon  to  imitate  Him  who  mani- 
fested his  compassion  to  our  fallen  world,  by  that  stu- 
pendous love  which  led  him  to  give  himself  a  sacrifice 
for  us,  that  he  might  deliver  us  from  the  cruel  thral- 
dom of  sin,  and  restore  us  to  the  purity  and  dignity  of 
free  men  and  women  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Allowing,  therefore,  that  Southern  slaveholders  have 
no  claim  upon  the  citizens  of  the  free  States,  on  the 
principles  of  justice,  still  we  cannot  deny  them,  without 
abjuring  the  peculiarities  of  our  holy  Christianity,  a 
claim  upon  our  compassion,  upon  our  mercy,  upon 
our  benevolence.  If,  by  extending  this  act  of 
Christian  generosity  toward  them,  we  may  be  instru- 
mental in  persuading  them  to  liberate  their  slaves, 
does  not  our  Christianity  demand  the  sacrifice  at  our 
hands  ?  Can  we,  then,  exempt  ourselves  from  con- 
demnation, if  we  withhold  it?  Shall  we  puzzle  our 
minds  to  find  out  how  much,  exactly,  we  owe,  and  then 
how  much  they  owe,  and  thus  balance  our  accounts, 
before  we  move  a  step  in  this  grand  enterprise  ?  This 
minute  calculation  might  suit  the  avarice  of  the  unbe- 
liever in  Christianity,  who  makes  all  his  actions  qua- 
drate with  the  rules  of  strict  justice  in  his  intercourse 
with  his  fellow-men,  and  never  means  to  step  over  its 
bounds  in  any  of  his  dealings  ;  but  surely  it  can  hardly 
suit  that  enlarged  benevolence  which  Christianity  in- 
spires in  the  breast  of  every  man  who  has  an  experi- 
mental and  practical  acquaintance  with  its  doctrines 
and  precepts  ;  these  teach  him  to  do  good  to  his  ene- 
mies, to  show  mercy  to  the  unthankful,  and  to  extend 
the  hand  of  charity  to  those  who  are  ready  to  perish, 
and  thus  to  snatch  them,  if  possible,  from  their  impend- 


93 

Will  any  man  contend  that  our  Southern  slave-hold- 
ers "  are  sinners  above  all," — that  they  should  be  left  to 
perish  without  an  effort  to  save  them  from  their  sinful 
delusion?  Admitting  that  they  are  as  bad  as  many 
suppose  them  to  be, — that  they  are  man-stealers,  inhu- 
man tyrants,  and  even  murderers, — they  are  not  beyond 
the  circle  of  God's  mercy^  and  therefore  without  the 
sphere  of  Christian  philanthropy.  They  form  a  part 
of  our  country,  and  therefore  are,  from  family  relation- 
ship, entitled  to  a  share  in  our  sympathy,  and  we 
should,  then,  extend  to  them  the  hand  of  brotherly 
love. 

But,  indeed,  the  objection  is  founded  in  error,  and 
therefore  can  have  no  solid  foundation.  Though  the 
States  which  are  now  free,  proclaimed  freedom  to  their 
slaves  without  any  compensation  to  those  citizens  who 
set  them  free,  yet  their  number  was  comparatively  few, 
and  the  sacrifice  was  proportionably  small  and  insigni- 
ficant, while  the  pecuniary  benefits  resulting  from  the 
slave-trade  were  reaped  chiefly  here  at  the  North  and 
East,  where  the  slave-ships  were  owned,  and  the  capi- 
tal and  men  employed.  And  after  reaping  all  this 
benefit,  and  then  freeing  the  few  slaves  who  were 
found  in  our  borders,  the  sacrifice  was  almost  nothing, 
in  comparison  to  the  profits  derived  from  the  slave- 
trade.  This  being  the  true  state  of  the  case,  it  follows, 
even  on  the  principles  of  justice,  as  nearly  as  we  can 
balance  the  accounts,  that  we  are  under  obligation  to 
assist  the  South  in  freeing  their  slaves.  This  appears 
to  be  a  just  view  of  the  subject,  from  every  calculation 
which  we  are  able  to  make. 

But  throwing  this  all  out  of  the  question,  a  mere  love 
of  country,  the  principles  of  humanity,  and  more  espe- 
cially the  genius  of  Christianity,  would  prompt  us  to 


94 

use  all  reasonable,  all  lawful,  all  Christian  endeavours, 
to  release  the  land  from  the  burden  of  slavery.  If, 
then,  we  are  sincere  in  our  professions  of  hatred  to 
slavery,  if  we  love  the  souls  and  the  bodies  of  slave-hold- 
ers, if  we  really  wish  well  to  their  temporal  aud  eternal 
interests,  if  we  heartily  commiserate  the  condition  of 
the  slave,  and  desire  his  elevation  to  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  a  freeman,  we  shall  be  ready  to  do  some- 
thing more  than  merely  to  declaim  against  slavery,  to 
denounce  its  abettors  as  thieves  and  murderers,  and  to 
pass  empty  resolutions  of  our  abhorrence  of  the  system 
and  its  effects.  O,  yes  !  we  shall  be  willing  to  offer  a 
sacrifice  of  something  that  will  cost  us  more  than  mere 
words ;  these  are  easily  spoken ;  but  when  we  are  re- 
quired to  put  our  hands  in  our  pockets,  we  are  ready 
enough  to  frame  excuses,  and  to  say — ''  O  no  !  We  are 
not  indebted  to  the  South ;  they  have  reaped  all  the 
profits  of  slavery,  and  therefore  they  are  bound  to  sur- 
render up  their  slaves  without  fee  or  rew^ard." 

This  is  the  language  of  penuriousness,  of  selfish- 
ness, of  avarice ;  and,  as  I  have  already  proved,  di- 
rectly opposite  to  the  whole  genius  and  spirit  of  that 
Christianity  which  we  all  profess  to  love  and  admire. 

This  answer  takes  for  granted  that  the  last  objec- 
tion is  founded  in  truth.  But  it  is  not,  as  I  have  be- 
fore sufficiently  demonstrated.  Truly,  we  are  debtors 
to  the  South.  In  addition  to  the  original  profits  of  the 
slave-trade,  our  merchants  and  manufacturers  are  daily 
reaping  the  benefits  resulting  from  slave-labour,  and 
that  much  more,  in  proportion,  than  do  the  slave-hold- 
ers themselves  ;  for  while  the  plantations  of  the  South 
are  becoming  impoverished  under  the  tillage  of  slaves, 
and  many  of  the  planters  are  hardly  able  to  realize 
enough  to  meet  their  annual  demands,  our  manufactu- 


95 

rers  and  merchants  are  becoming  rich  under  the  opera- 
tions of  the  trade,  and  barter  for  the  exchange  of 
manufactured  cloth  for  the  raw  material.  Say,  if  you 
please,  that  this  results  from  the  difference  between 
free  and  slave  labour  ;  it  amounts  to  the  same  thing, 
and  shows  that  the  balance  is  in  our  favour,  and, 
therefore,  we  ought  to  exert  ourselves  to  the  utmost 
of  our  ability  to  free  the  land  from  this  intolerable 
burden. 

Do  you  say  that  the  Southerners  will  not  accept 
of  our  offer — that  they  will  reject  our  interference  in 
their  affairs,  and  spurn  our  seeming  charity  ?  Be  it 
so.  It  is  no  less  our  duty  to  offer  it  to  them,  in  the 
same  spirit  of  sincerity  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  of- 
fers salvation  to  sinners  who  reject  and  spurn  it.  But 
I  persuade  myself  that  they  will  not,  at  least  a  great 
proportion  of  them.,  contemptuously  view  our  offers  of 
friendship,  nor  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  counsels  of  wis- 
dom. If  they  should,  the  responsibility  will  rest  with 
them;  we  have  discharged  a  solemn  duty;  and,  hav- 
ing put  forth  our  be&t  efforts  to  do  them  good,  as  well 
as  to  exonerate  ourselves  from  the  responsibility  w^hich 
rested  upon  US',  from  the  relation  we  held  to  slavery, 
we  can  confidently  look  up  to  our  God  for  his  blessing,, 
and  appeal  to  our  countrymen  for  the  sincerity  of  our 
hearts,  and  for  the  purity  of  our  intentions,  in  thus 
striving  to  liberate  the  4,000,000  of  slaves  which  now 
inhabit  our  borders. 

With  these  views  and  feelings,  we  can  calmly  com- 
mit our  cause  to  that  God  ''  who  maketh  his  sun  ta 
rise  upon  the  evil  and  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  upon 
the  just  and  the  unjust ;"  praying  that  he  may  give 
success  to  our  efforts,  and  smile  upon  the  land  of  our 
birth, — and  quietly  leave  our  sentiments  for  the  calm 


96 

consideration  of  our  contemporaries,  and  for  the  review 
of  our  posterity. 

In  the  next  chapter  I  shall  present  the  means  that 
are  to  be  employed  to  carry  my  plan  more  effectually 
into  practical  operation. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  MEANS  TO  CARRY  THE  PLAN  INTO  EFFECT. 

In  respect  to  these,  I  will  simply  propose  those  which 
I  consider  the  most  judicious,  leaving  it  to  others  either 
to  adopt  them,  or  to  propose  such  as  may  be  better 
adapted  to  the  end. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  let  it  be  recollected  that  one 
individual  can  accomplish  but  little.  It  is  true,  some 
one  must  set  the  idea  afloat,  and  if  others  accord  with 
it,  they  may  take  it  up,  deliberate  upon  it,  and  adopt 
or  modify  it,  as  they  may  see  fit ;  but  if  it  attract  no 
attention,  so  that  no  one  esteems  it  worthy  of  consider- 
ation, it  must  die,  of  course.  And  hence,  if  all  I  have 
said  should  enlist  no  one  in  favour  of  my  general  plan, 
why  then  I  have  lost  all  my  labour,  and  slavery  must 
continue  to  exist, — unless,  indeed,  some  other  person 
shall  be  so  happy  as  to  devise  a  more  feasible  plan, 
and  succeed  in  carrying  it  into  execution. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  my  general  plan  should  be  so 
far  viewed  favourably  as  to  attract  attention,  and  be 
considered  worthy  of  a  trial,  let  a  number  of  individu- 
als be  called  together ;  let  them  form  a  society  in  the 
usual  way  ;  mature  and  adopt  their  plans  of  operation  ; 
send  out  an  Address  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
appealing  more  especially  to  statesmen,  asking  their 
co-operation  in  this  grand  enterprise  of  justice  and  be- 


97 

nevolence.  If,  indeed,  a  few  only  were  enlisted  at 
first,  if  intelligent  and  virtuous,  and  hearty  in  the  cause, 
they  would  make  an  impression  upon  others,-— and 
thus  their  numbers,  and  of  course  their  strength,  would 
be  gradually  increased;  and,  by  continually  enlarging 
the  circle  of  their  influence,  the  nation  would  finally 
be  aroused  to  the  importance  of  the  subject. 

I  think  the  work  should  commence  in  the  North. 
Here  let  agents  be  appointed  to  travel  through  the 
country,  to  lecture  the  people  on  the  necessity  and 
feasibility  of  effecting  emancipation.  Let  these  agents 
visit  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  States,  such  as 
governors,  judges,  senators,  members  of  assemblies, 
mayors  of  cities,  and  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  ex- 
plain to  them  the  plan,  and  solicit  them,  by  every  ar- 
gument derived  from  moral,  religious,  political,  and 
civil  considerations,  as  well  as  from  the  temporal  and 
eternal  benefits  resulting  from  freedom,  to  yield  their 
hearty  co-operation.  Let  the  subject  be  presented  to 
the  State  legislatures,  and  all  prudent  measures  used 
to  induce  them  to  take  it  into  serious  consideration. 

In  this  wB.y  the  public  mind  v^ill  become  enlightened, 
and  the  bias  be  gradually  formed  in  favour  of  the  plan. 
For,  as  I  have  before  said,  if  the  v^ork  be  ever  ac- 
complished, the  NATION  must  engage  in  it — the  people 
must  speak  and  act;  they  must  declare  that  it  is 
THEIR  WILL  that  slavery  shall  cease  to  exist  in  their 
country, — that  they  will  no  longer  suffer  this  dire 
disease  to  prey  upon  the  body  politic  ; — and  in  order  ' 
to  this,  their  rulers  must  devise  ways  and  means  for 
its  removal. 

Now,  that  this  mighty  movement  may  be  made,  some 
one  must  begin  it.     Who  will  step  forward  and  call  a 
meeting  of  the  friends  of  the  slave — of  the  friends  of 
13 


98 

their  country's  freedom — that  they  may  consult  toge- 
ther on  the  best  means  for  the  accomplishment  of  this 
end?  Whoever  he  may  be,  let  him  speak,  and  I 
dare  pledge  myself  he  will  be  heard. 

After  thus  beginning  the  work  here,  let  a  corre- 
spondence be  opened  with  philanthropic  gentlemen  in 
the  South,  with  a  view  to  engage  their  co-operation; 
and  if  a  few  shall  be  found  favourable  to  the  plan,  let 
a  society  be  formed  there,  agents  appointed  to  travel 
through  the  Southern  States  to  deliver  lectures,  and 
make  application  to  the  leading  statesmen  of  the  South, 
to  the  governors,  judges,  senators,  and  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  and  press  upon  them  the  importance  of  attend- 
ing to  this  subject. 

If  the  co-operation  of  benevolent  slave-holders  at  the 
South  can  be  secured,  the  work  will  be  done. 

But  everything  depends  upon  the  manner  of  begin- 
ning and  carrying  on  the  work.  Let  no  rash  step  be 
taken,  no  angry  vituperation  be  indulged  in  against 
slave-holders  indiscriminately,  no  high-toned  declama- 
tion against  those  who  may  oppose  the  measures  to  be 
adopted  and  pursued ;  but  let  everything  be  said  and 
done  soberly,  discreetly,  and  in  the  fear  of  God,  with 
a  single  view  to  benefit  the  slave,  and  to  save  our 
country  trom  the  reproach  and  the  burden  which  the 
system  has  brought  upon  it. 

Much  will  depend  upon  the  character  of  the  agents 
to  be  employed.  They  should  be  men  of  suitable  age, 
of  wisdom  derived  from  experience,  of  sound  discre- 
tion, and  of  indomitable  perseverance  ;  men  who  can 
brook  opposition  with  calmness, — who  can  answer  ob- 
jections with  meekness  and  wisdom — can  bear  re- 
proach with  patience — and  who  are  willing  to  sacrifice 
much  for  the  qrood  of  their  country. 


99 

Rather  than  employ  hot-headed,  raw,  and  inexpe- 
rienced men  in  this  work,  who  would  spend  their 
strength  in  empty  declamation  on  the  evils  of  slavery^ 
and  in  dogmatical  denunciations  indiscriminately  hurl- 
ed against  slave-holders,  instead  of  presenting  sober, 
cenclusive  arguments,  which  are  calculated  to  convince 
the  judgment,  and  gain  the  consent  of  the  will,  w^e  had 
better  do  nothing ;  for  I  am  persuaded  that  such  men 
would  defeat  the  object,  and  throw  the  cause  back  for 
years.  We  must  engage  in  this  work  like  men  that 
are  sincere  and  hearty  in  it, — that  are  willing  to  sacri- 
fice self — to  bear  up  under  opposition — to  suffer  re- 
proach, if  need  be — and  are  determined  to  persevere  at 
all  hazards,  through  good  and  evil  report,  until  the 
work  is  accomplished.  If  little,  petty  spirits  snarl  at 
us,  bear  it  in  silence ;  if  petulant  minds  reproach  us, 
accuse  us  of  inconsistency,  answer  them  not,  but  go 
straightforward  to  the  mark  with  all  diligence  ;  but  if 
any  meet  us  with  sober  objections,  answer  them  with 
the  meekness  of  wisdom.  If  any  throw  obstacles  in 
the  way,  through  malice  or  ignorance,  patiently  re- 
move them,  and  then  march  on  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  and  he  will  go  before  us,  and  make  our  way 
prosperous. 

I  have  thus  presented  my  plan,  and  proposed  the 
means  for  its  accomplishment ;  and  I  beg  that  it  may 
be  considered  with  all  the  calmness  and  deliberation 
that  its  importance  demands. 

If,  however,  the  "proposition  for  remunerating  those 
who  may  consent  to  set  their  slaves  free  should  not  be 
received,  I  would  then  advise  the  slave-holders  to  go 
to  work  and  devise  plans  for  emancipating  their  slaves 
on  their  own  account ;  for  I  verily  believe,  from  all  the 
facts  which  I  have  been  able  to  collect,  from  the  ex- 


100 

perinients  which  have  been  heretofore  made,  that  they 
would  be  immense  gamers,  ultimately,  by  substituting 
free  for  slave  labour.  Indeed,  if  I  am  rightly  in- 
formed, some  of  the  slave-holders  in  Maryland  and 
Virginia  have  already  made  the  experiment  with  en- 
couraging success  ;  and  this  test  of  its  beneficial  conse- 
quences is  a  sufficient  warrant  to  induce  others  to 
follow  the  example,  under  the  firm  expectation  that 
similar  results  will  follow.  Let,  then,  the  work  go  on, 
until  slavery  shall  cease  to  exist  in  all  the  States  of 
the  confederacy. 

If  there  be  any  truth  in  the  facts  which  have  been 
spread  before  the  community  in  proof  of  the  unpro- 
ductiveness of  slave-labour,  its  natural  tendency  to  im- 
poverish the  soil,  and,  of  course,  to  diminish  the  value 
of  their  property,  then  it  follows,  most  conclusively, 
that  the  slave  States  would  find  it  vastly  beneficial  to 
themselves  to  liberate  their  slaves,  in  such  a  way,  in- 
deed, as  to  secure  their  voluntary  services,  while  they 
would  subject  themselves  to  those  wholesome  laws 
which  are  necessary  to  the  due  regulation  of  human 
society.  The  slave-holders  would,  therefore,  run  no 
risk  in  assuming  the  responsibility  of  setting  their 
slaves  free  on  their  own  account,  w^ithout  any  regard  to 
an  immediate  pecuniary  recompense. 

But  I  am  persuaded,  that  if  the  Southern  States  will 
consent  to  repeal  those  laws  which  forbid  emancipa- 
tion, the  other  States  will  concur  in  the  measure  I 
have  recommended,  and  that  Congress  will  be  induced 
to  adopt  the  means  necessary  to  carry  it  into  full  effect. 
At  any  rate,  let  us  make  the  trial,  and  if  it  fail,  we  shall 
have  discharged  a  solemn  obligation  ;  but  if  it  succeed, 
we  shall  have  the  happiness  of  reflecting  on  an  act  of 
our  lives  productive  of  the  most  blessed  results  to  our- 


101 

selves,  to  our  country,  to  millions  of  our  fellow-beings 
now  held  in  bondage,  as  well  as  to  thousands  of  slave- 
holders who  are  desirous  of  being  relieved  of  the  incu- 
bus entailed  upon  them. 

Such  a  result  cannot  be  contemplated  without  in- 
spiring feelings  of  indescribable  pleasure, — pleasure 
unmixed  with  any  merely  selfish  considerations, — but 
pleasure  originating  from  a  consciousness  of  having 
discharged  an  imperative  duty,  and  from  anticipating 
the  high  and  honourable  ground  which  the  American 
nation  shall  take  among  the  civilized  nations  of  the 
earth,  from  having  proclaimed  freedom  to  4,000,000  of 
her  population.  These  are  the  considerations  which  I 
leave  with  the  reader,  hoping  and  praying  that  some 
one  of  such  influence  and  standing  in  society  as  will 
command  attention,  may  second  my  views,  and  step 
forward  in  the  work  with  that  enlightened  zeal  and 
Christian  patriotism  which  will  give  weight  to  his  ef- 
forts, and  contribute  to  enlist  others,  of  a  like  spirit,  in 
this  holy  enterprise. 

I  have  done.  I  think  I  have  done  a  duty.  I  there- 
fore calmly  commit  the  cause  to  that  God  ''  who  rules 
in  the  armies  of  heaven,  and  commands  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth." 


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